of mountain tops, guiding the cartels, through tucson and into phoenix, and throughout the country. we have a serious problem. it requires us to have a national discussion because the problem, mainly, is the drug cartels and the violent side of is a demand for drugs in the united states of america. whether they have a submarine, like i have seen in colombia. it is a violent place when you have armed members bringing drugs across the border into our country. i do not excuse any action that .ook place

but to somehow think it is not dangerous when cartel members are bringing drugs up to this country is not an adequate reading of the situation on the border, and i visit it all the time. said, i think the answer to our border control is technology. you have a point about additional border patrol. one of the things we need more of is customs people so we can .xpedite traffic back and forth there are some of us here old enough to remember we used to be able to walk across and have and walkedgales back. think about doing that today. you bring up problems on the border, and with this surveillance capability, we will people back,keep

and then we will be able to send these teams out. finally, the coyotes. we know these coyotes are the worst scum of the earth people, and they are bringing people it'd tucson and up to phoenix and putting them in drop houses where they hold them in the most unspeakable conditions and then hold them for ransom that their families back in mexico. it is an argument for getting our borders secure, but also an argument for us redress the entire issue of illegal immigration. i thank you for your passion. yes, sir. >> [indiscernible] >> go ahead. answering why and what we are going to do with border patrol agents. [indiscernible] every citizen of this country

has the benefit of innocence of proven guilty. that is a fundamental quality of our moxie. there should be complete and thorough investigation, congressional oversight, and our system of justice exercised. the worst riddles still have the presumption in the united states of innocence until proven guilty. you may have already proven that guilty, but he is entitled to all rejections of our laws. on the face of it, i think you may be right, but i would reserve judgment for the investigation and the courts. yes, sir. county a member of the public healthy community. we have been working on trying to do something about guns.

first, i wanted to congratulate you for the stand you have taken on background checks. to add i am not a member of your party. i am a retired naval officer. and i believe that we should do --ter on controlling we are trying to get some local controls since we cannot get it to the congress. but too many of your colleagues are cowed by the national rifle association, and so we are hoping possibly, we want you to do something locally. we have a lot of professionals , and people should go there and sell them to the

cartels, to the mentally ill, and two kids and do -- and to kids, and gun manufacturers do not care who buys them as long as they buy them. i am hoping that you will exert your influence, and i know that it did not go through congress, and i do not have too much hope that it would. to wherever it could be used help, among other things, as you just pointed out -- [indiscernible] thank you. >> thank you, sir. thank you for your advocacy. we need a female questioner here. >> i think it is a very bad practice for the congress to get favors as far as the health care premiums are concerned.

if obama care is such a disaster, then you guys should be willing to defund it and get rid of it. i totally agree. it came as a surprise to me that it happened. i strenuously opposed obamacare, but for us to hit some kind of exemption card out -- i do not what happened, but to try to find out what happened and how it happened. in case you missed it, it will contribute to the favorability of congress. it is around 12%. i saw we are down to paid staffers and blood relatives. no one else. going through sky harbor airport and a guy said, anybody every tell you you look a lot like senator john mccain? i said yea. he said, doesn't it sometimes

make you mad as hell? this latest act as you point out get your bids to that american members of congress divorce them from the challenges that they have. they are correct. all i can tell you is it game is a surprise to me. i will look into it. i do not know how you justify it. yes, sir, could we just have this young man peered. then we will go to you. >> i am a student, and i wanted to know [indiscernible] i wanted to know if there is any proposition in congress to stem our demand for drugs as well is actually keeping them out of the u.s. >> which drugs? >> [indiscernible]

i did not know if that apply to the drugs as well. >> i'm glad you mentioned it, because i am conflicted on this issue. as you know, people of arizona that marijuana will be legal in arizona for medicinal purposes, and that has been broadly interpreted. that has been the story in the case of other state in america. we also have a situation where we are intercepting marijuana at the border, and yet at the same time there is people who are growing marijuana legally for sale to those who need it for and we haverposes, seen in california and other states widespread people who have illnesses that require the use of marijuana. so, the attorney general of the united states the day before

yesterday -- or yesterday -- announced that they were going to try to adjust the war on drugs to the most serious drug crimes. one draws the conclusion that they are not going to pay much attention to minor crimes. there is also a problem we have today, and i always make up my but half thes, people of prison -- in prison today in the united states are ug charges, and some on more minor charges than others, and there is such a thing as mandatory sentences which has caused dramatic overcrowding of prisons. federal courts have ordered california to reduce dramatically their prison population. this is really a conversation that the american people have to have. we have to decide what you think is acceptable in america and what we think is not.

i would like to mention one other aspect of it, and i would be glad to hear rural spots. but i see movies and television programs where the use of cocaine in particular is glamorized, then i wonder if that is a beneficial effect on young americans. and so, we need to have this conversation, and i think it is pretty clear that there is at least in some respects a growing acceptance in the united states, and i am not saying that i am one of them, of the use of recreational drugs. we need to have that conversation. i thank you for the question. can i go to this lady right here. she will bring it. sent me and i have to come back with an answer. [laughter] sounds like

discrimination. >> i work at a hospice, and we were affected by sequestration. we are paid solely by medicare. is, what is the budget, what is going to happen october 1 if we have a government shutdown? we will lose all our funding, and we have 300 patients that are dying in tucson that will not get their hospice care. and is the status quo, do you think sequestration will end on october 1, or do you think the cuts will and added a at any time?end wonderful, the

growing acceptance and realization that hospice is really a wonderful way, if people choose, to spend our remaining days on earth. hospice -- andof i have had relatives who have chosen to make that choice -- has been a wonderful and caring and loving way for us all to go to my sooner or later. thank you for what you do. on sequestration -- i do not know what will happen. i know from previous experience that if we yet to this shutdown of the government, rand canyon and the washington -- grand canyon and the washington monument and everything that what happened when we shut down government, the american people will react in a negative fashion and will blame congress. there are some of my colleagues in the hopkinson at that say we have to repeal obama care if we're going to raise the debt limit. my friends, that does not work. i want to repeal obamacare.

it happens to be the way i voted, but it is not the way it will happen. we do not have 67 votes in the united states senate, which was what would be required to override a presidential veto. and so, i think it is not a right approach. what i do want to continue this repeal parts of obamacare, which are very onerous and are very harmful in my view to healthcare in america. i do not know what is going to happen, but i believe we will not shut down the government. i believe it is time the american people are heard they want us to sit down together and avoid what is turning into every year or every two years that we threatened people like you. it contributes -- i joke about the congress, but i am not proud of that. what i think is going to happen is some way we will keep you in business, and sequestration is

not the answer. sequestration was a copout on the part of congress because instead of making the specific reductions that need to be made, that arehomes in $600,000, and it hurts our military because they exhibit so many programs that the burden is being forced on the military. i will tell you one thing, you out at your friends the base, they are questioning whether they want to stay in the military or not, when they are not allowed to fly, not allowed to maintain, not allowed to operate, not allowed to exercise because of sequestration. the interest of full disclosure, i voted for it. dumbest vote i made while i have been in the congress.

so all i am trying to do is sit down with democrats in the president and sit down with my republican colleagues and we stop this and stop it for a time instead of have this be so often that the american people are not sure and people like you are not sure of their future. yes, sir. >> thank you. i want to thank you for your leadership. i think washington needs were leaders like yourself. i think you are very courageous and if is very admirable. if you are not busy, i would like you to take me with you. my question is, how do you work with your colleagues? as you may have heard, congressman king has said a lot of hateful things, and he has hateful rhetoric.

specifically, he has introduced an amendment that has not gotten action,defund deferred or daca, and how do you work with your colleagues so that does not harm the rhetoric of the republican party? >> let me respond to you first. the remarks that were made by congressman king -- it is a free country, he can say whatever he wants to. i can't say that is outrageous and disgraceful to make a comment that people have calves the size of cantaloupes -- i will not repeat what he said. he has the right -- right to say what he wants to say -- and i think it is very and theto the dialogue

environment that we want to foster in america, where we are all god's children. thisest way to handle is treat your opponents with respect. if you are disrespectful to those who disagree with you i'm a no matter who they are, then you diminish yourself and you diminish your ability to convince your colleagues. i will go to the floor -- i miss ted kennedy all the time because i used to spend half my time writing like hell with it -- fighting like hell with them and half my time agreeing with him. there were two senators, democrat and republican, who got into an argument about our imagery procedure on the floor. ted came down to help the democrats and i came down to help the republican. we were noticed in those for about five minutes. se to nose.no

andalked off the floor, teddy said, we did pretty good, did we? we have to be respectful of everybody's views. when people disagree with you, you are free to respond, but if i can have an effect on this issue, it is because i have some respect for my collects. that is the best way asked the best way to get that is be respectful of the views of your colleagues even if you disagree. the gentleman behind you. much.nk you very i do appreciate it. i have one hard question for you. [indiscernible]

you and i disagree on occasion. i am very happy [indiscernible] choices ande tough i think you made the right choices. thank you for that. all up wetjen on the budget. why are we doing continuing ?esolutions questionin they should not be funded. they cannot because we are on a continuing resolution. >> thank you for your service and i thank you for your representation, and i believe i speak for a lot of us that appreciate the hard work that you do. for four years, we've delayed for it, the democrats, are not passing a budget in the united states senate. this year we finally passed a budget in the senate. my republican colleagues in the

senate do not want to go to conference with that house. i do not understand that. i did not get it. i went to the floor and said i thought a were wrong. it is a symptom of the gridlock that we have. and it is very unfortunate. live on someas to kind of a budget. the congress is the only one that does not. it is not acceptable. those people who seriously appreciate you being here, and i appreciate your history of open-mindedness and fairness. to gridlock you just alluded is almost beyond belief. people isions with know, friends and relatives, it seems to me an underlying issue is racism. there is a lot of animosity

toward the president. that is an observation. personally, i do not believe that. if you look at the places where exists, -- where racism it seems to have their congressman support this. the congress is not doing what the people want, but racism is an underlying issue. my question to you is, to you believe there is racism in this country, and is it affecting politics in the congress? i believe that unfortunately there is racism in this country, but i think we have made dramatic progress over the last 20 or 30 years thanks to a lot of people. a lot of sacrifice was made. i think there has been for example in the military we used to have a segregated military in world war ii.

harry truman integrated our military. i would argue today the military is the best equal opportunity employer in america. so i think we have made dramatic progress. do i believe we have a long way today question mark i certainly do until we eradicate sexism. we now have a problem with sexual assaults. they're trying to grapple with that issue. we cannot have young men and women joining the military and some young men who are at the risk of being victims of sexual assault. i do not believe that racism motivates my colleagues. i believe what motivates my colleagues is a fundamental philosophical difference about the role of government in our society. and obama care the best example of that. , we you believe conservatives believe that less government is better, less

regulation, and on and on. that is what we believe. president obama believes and he articulated in the debate that we he and i had in 2008. he believes in bigger government, stimulus packages, he believes in funding of projects in my view that are all are already developed. we have seen huge failures of investments that we have made it certain mature industries. . reject categorically there may be someone somewhere, is i believe the opposition because of a fundamental opposition in philosophy about the role of government in our society. and frankly, i reject the notion that people who have fundamental differences, which is one of the reason we have two parties, would have any base motives. yes, ma'am. >> on the subject of the military sexual assault -- [indiscernible]

on the subject of military sexual trauma [indiscernible] whatever you want to call it -- [indiscernible] a movie portrays my experience he, and i would like to provide your copy of that so you can share with your constituents. >> thank you, i would be honored, and i have already heard about it, and i would be glad to see it. since you bring it up, i would like to bring remarks about it. there is a problem with sexual assaults in the military. there is a problem. for anybody to deny it, obviously the facts do not bear that out. i am probably the military. ons whooud to have two s have served in the military. i am proud of my family, for

many generations. but this cannot stand and action has to be taken to prevent unspeakable actions such as this great and the question is, is how do you address it, and the debate now is what is the role of the commanding officer and whether the commanding officer should be deprived of that responsibility or whether it should be reviewed or not under the uniform code of military justice, and we have been wrestling with it for a long time in the armed services committee. he will take up the defense will, and you will see more debate and discussion and voting on that bill. i want to assure you one thing -- i think it has the attention of the members of the senate, and i hope everybody takes this in the right way. i think it is helpful we have 20 women senators in the senate, and i hope that does not mean that i'm saying that i am insensitive. -- it is helpful in

the senate to have that input that we are getting from many of our women senator colleagues. senator mccaskill of missouri d are ontor gillibran opposite sides of this issue, and i try not to get on the middle of that one. yes, ma'am. there is a microphone. >> thank you so much for listening to me. i work for an amazing company that services the hard of hearing in the vigils in the country -- individuals, and it is an amazing service, and with the fcc proposing regulations act ofe against the ada 1990. they are wanting to have individuals push a captioning on each time they use a phone, and a love time they are not remember and they missed the first sense because they do not use the button. they want us to charge our

consumers $75 a phone when they are already paying for the broadband internet and phone service. i am hoping that something can be done because we help individuals every day and we help the military and all those individuals that are hard of hearing. i hope you can take some action. >> i will have my staff you immediately of this problem. i was unaware of it. i will be glad to address it. but i just say the americans with disability act i think was one of the most wonderful things he have done in recent years. there were some problems with that, but the fact is it is a model to the world. a lot of good things would not have happened if it had not been for that. thank you for all you do and we will be glad to have our people talk to you and address it. yes, ma'am. now, you do not have to read anything. >> i know. i want to thank you so much for

being a part of comprehensive immigration reform. got his citizenship and he worked hard for a family to be where we are today. i will read my notes. as the nation has moved up beyond a mentality of passage of a law, [indiscernible] bringingmic benefit of the undocumented of the shadows. my question to you [indiscernible] what can we do here in arizona to help other communities understand the importance of this bill and how it can be passed in the house? thank you. i think you need to be

active, but i really urge you to be respectful. i think it is important we not show disrespect, especially on an issue as emotional as this is, and i know that is hard to do for some of our people who have been heavily involved in these issues. i would also try to point out we do not always respond exactly to it will of the people, but is very clear in poll after poll more ofll that 70% or our citizens, republican, democrat, independent, support a path to citizenship if back taxes, fees, learn english, and get in the back of the line, that you see an overwhelming majority of americans want to move in that path. so that is what i think we need to convince our opponents that this is the right thing to do at the right time. and i would respectfully ask the

opponents of this legislation, what is your proposal? the answer may be we do not that obama to enforce laws we pass. that could be, but then we should not pass any laws if we do not trust the government to enforce them. and if the president of the united states does not enforce the law, there are ways to go to court -- because we have a judicial branch -- and get those reversed. a small example, the president made some appointments during a recess, which was unconstitutional in our view. we are fighting it all the way through the courts, to the national labour relations board. and it is going to be heard by the united states supreme court edll judge the president act unconstitutionally. that is the process, not saying we cannot pass laws to secure

our border because they will not secure our border. that is not in my view the way to go. i will do that, and there's a young man who is very eager to rebut whatever you said. yes, sir. >> senator mccain, i want to echo the words of my friend, thank you for coming to tucson. we would like to see you more down here. a cure for coming down here and talking to the people. immigrationlk about reform. a big issue, thank you, and we appreciate your work, a tough political thing on capitol hill, and as a former state lawmaker, we need a comprehensive hatteras solution because what we have been seeing at the state capital has not worked. it has only harmed our state economically. we need a solution from washington. i think you -->>

are right, and if our entire republican and democrat, senator fleck and i helped it would help our organization somewhat, don't you agree? go ahead. >> i certainly do. with all due respect, we still need all the help we can get from ashington. -- from washington. . call that support accumulated a lot of senior party. i will not live forever, contrary to proper under -- to believe. it should not be based on sine are ready. it should be based on virtue. he should have a level playing field of everybody competing for

tax dollars. we should not have it spent on the basis of seniority or clout. otherwise, soon or or later we suffer because we are going to have new members of the congress and senate. sends a lot more money to washington than it gets back. what our job i think should be a level that i'm a rather than saying let me put her feet in the trough. that is where we might have a slight disagreement. >> we just need to get our money back. thank you for working on it. on reform, i want to talk to the issue. i have not had it come up. a big issue, very important. you spoke to the comments on the largess of the senate bills, that corker amendment, which made it very expensive, and i believe you your self made a comment that i thought was on the money that if we pass this

bill we are going to have the most militarized border since the fall of the berlin wall. for, is whating can we do to help a commonsense solution come out of washington, not this one size of all approach of building a wall on the border that when you go down and look at places on the border am a just does not make sense. it does not make sense, and the politics in washington seem to favor that. what can we do to have a more commonsense approach on immigration reform? --ated to that, >> let me respond. that is why we have the process that we pass a bill and some legislation house, we go to conference, and we can address some of the problems that have arisen that people have with the legislation as we passed it.

that is the process, as you know. go ahead. commentsyou, and your at technology will do it. the bill managed hundreds of miles of the border, and we hope that can be addressed work commonsensical. on another issue, in arizona and it is already hot and dry. we live in a hot and dry say. science shows our climate is changing. the consensus is clear that activities of humans contribute to a different climate. what do you think are the possibilities for addressing energy and climate in a way that will make sense to protect our quality of life and to protect our economy. coming from a state that is hot and dry, signs will show it will continue to be hot and dry. what can we do about climate change? thank you. >> thank you very much, and

thank you for your service. we will have to have a town hall meeting on the issue. it was barry goldwater who used to say we have so little water dogs.he trees chase the that was a joke. you were supposed to laugh. i think the earth is warming and i think the question is how you address it. i worry about increasing people's taxes. i think we can rely to some degree on some technological advances as opposed to increasing taxes on americans who i think are taxed enough for my certainly, in these tough economic times. there is some good news. we are now going to be an energy-rich nation. we will export natural gas to europe which will diminish the european dependence on russian and this whole fracking

thing is turning into incredible good news for america. it will make us energy ,ndependent for over a period depending on how we do it in the next 10 or 20 years. natural gas is much cleaner. of goodthat is a lot news, and the technology is good. with someat incentives from the government, we are seeing automobiles with dramatically increased mileage. i have a ford- fusion, and i are the ever stop at a gas station. there is cars on the market that are much more fuel efficient than they used to be. it is the market that is driving so there are a lot centivized technology, in my

view, that we have not explored instead of raising people's taxes. because i just do not think that stillnow with americans in a stumbling recovery that we would want to raise taxes. yes, ma'am. >> thank you. [indiscernible] were at your town hall [indiscernible] thank you very much. she asked me to tell you that. >> thank you from the bottom of my heart. >> i will tell you her. whenever we talked about immigration reform, being in arizona is like racial profiling. what is happening on the west coast and east coast and the canadian border? i know all sorts of asians coming in through containers.

stopour immigration reform racial profiling and address that issue also? >> thank you for the question. because of the disparities in our economy and in the mexican economy, then understandably, many mexican citizens and central americans, south american citizens want to come here. canadians, because basically we have an equal economic situation, are not driven to -- when you look at the numbers, it is nothing in comparison to what crosses our southern border. and we need to make improvements there. i am not saying we should ignore it. ism saying the major issue still across our southern border. i would like to give you a little good news. that is the mexican economy is

directly.their issue there are some indications right now -- and he have not got enough -- that there may be a balance between in-migration and out-migration because the mexican economy is giving them an opportunity to live where they live. i think there is some good news out of that. the greatest disparity between as farions in the world as economic conditions is the united states and mexico. rather improving significantly. they have a young president who is surrounded by some very talented people. as you may have noticed, they pemecing to reform and will be able to increase oil production. they are talking about deregulating the communications industry it is totally controlled by one guy, the

richest man in the world, as a matter of fact. something like five times in mexico to make a phone call than it does in the united states. that is outrageous. we are seeing some signs of hope and life there and i would like to give you a little -- >> thank you for supporting background checks. i have visited your office since my daughter was murdered in 1999 with a gun that was immediately -- that was legally bought in a gun shop. the majority of people who buy guns that murder people without a background check are not the mentally ill. it is criminals. [indiscernible] that may be true, but generally speaking, remodels kill criminals, ok? i do not wants -- to get into an argument with you, especially, but there are signs everyone of these people committed these harmful acts when you look back rest

respectively should have raised alarms. someone who is a criminal, then that is much harder to predict. what their behavior is going to be. it is my understanding from careful study of these cases, there were indications the individuals who did this should have rung an alarm bell someplace along the line. please go ahead. >> by question you is about a national gun trafficking bill. that is no national bill forses criminal sanctions gun trafficking. so guns can move pretty freely between states. gun trafficking is controlled by states at this moment. we are in desperate need of a national gun trafficking. >> i would be glad to look at it. if you have a proposal, we have a states rights issue here, but

things that cross state lines become federal issues. i would be glad to examine it, any proposal you might have. i am open to looking at almost anything. [indiscernible] we have become very good friends for all these survivors, and i am honored to do. >> there is such a thing as a silver lining. but that is it. to be friends with his people. i would like to on a personal note engine that i have a dear friend who went to the military with you. >> thank you. a great american. thank you. yes, ma'am. senator, my name is rita garcia.

foruld like to thank you coming to south tucson. wanted you to know about how i wanted you to vote on gun legislation. him to comeease ask to south tucson. he is all the time going to green valley. gets just too hard to there. i did not even plan on this. i saw it on the news this morning. i was on my way to the doctor's appointment, but i felt obligated since i asked you to come here and you are here. in december ofed 2010 due to a rare in those -- rare illness. i worked over 30 years. it killed every time i heard senators, especially republicans, say they are takers. i paid taxes for over 30 years.

i have a rare illness and i am disabled. a disconnect between federal and state of arizona reputation, arizona is one of the few states in this country, run by republicans predominately, where the cost of living raise for social security. it was 3.6 %. raise theof arizona eligibility for a program that was paying $100 a month for my medication to 3.4%. consequently, i was cut off. $100 a month, which i could no longer go to physical therapy because i'm single and i have lived by myself and i am trying to make it on my own. researching at night, i watch c- span because i need to keep my brain going if my body will not. thank you for all that you do.

even though i am democrat, i vote for you oftentimes. [laughter] what can we do to stop that? again, i contacted my record is in the those immediately, in his office, in his district, and we are just stuck. arizona is one of the few states where our legislature will not -- i was told by my case manager when i got the notice that i was going to get the increase, my first concern was, am i going to lose this program? i was told no. the state will raise the eligibility so you are already in the program. guess what -- a few months later i get the notice. what can you do to help? all, i have to give you a straight talk.

i can help you with that or programs and we can do everything we can to make sure that you receive everything that you are entitled to. and i hope that that is sufficient to help you successfully live in an independent living fashion and environment. i cannot tell the state legislature what to do. i can recommend to them -- >> thank you, that would help. but i would be glad to come, but i cannot write state laws. >> arizona is the only state that does that, and they do that intelligently -- intentionally to cut benefits from people. because we are the takers. >> thank you. you're not a taker. you're not. ok? >> i'm sorry. >> i will have somebody right after this meeting to talk to you to see what we can do. let's thank you.

thank you. thank you for coming to tucson. >> all the way in the back. it is a privilege to talk to you. my son met with you years ago. door knock her. i am a real estate agent, and i have had companies that keep all and if you do not pay your mortgage and something i do what i do and i noticed that loans insured by the government, fha loans, your underwater, the bank is holding it tries to get your modification. the modification in general speaking everybody would agree means you will get something for yourself. it turns out fha puts the

partial claims on, people do not know what they have got, and banks are reselling these host individuals, where a brand- , 10 years old, he gets a brand-new price. they cannot move forward. the banks are not regulated. short sales,d these departments, or anything, and now all of a sudden they create these things and each bank has a different recall, and people go to foreclosure. they do not have any way to to make some progress. what can be done to regulate these angst and get them under wraps? i think you are aware that the dodd-frank bill was supposed to, was advertised to make sure that none of these financial institutions were ever again to big to fail.

you believe that? of course not. of course not. the reason why this recovery has been so uneven in my view is that mr. bernanke if the major financial institutions free money and you do not get free money when you go out and sell a house to someone for their rich. they do not get free money. that is wrong. what the major financial institutions are doing in making record profits and people like you and people you are serving are struggling. now we want to continue in existence fannie mae and freddie mac mark who were major perpetrators i find mind- boggling and the -- if they were giving the freeman did you and people were trying to get a jpmorgan, that would be different. but it has an uneven recovery. wall street is making reference profits. -- record profits. we have businesses and

homeowners who are struggling. i may sound like a communist, but the fact is this is becoming a very i'm even recovery -- very uneven recovery, and that is wrong. middle income americans and lower income americans are not getting the benefit of this recovery. and we got to look at why not, and we got to look at these big -- we had hearings, thanks to whaler levin, on morgan's trade. they lost $6 billion in their trade. some of that west taxpayer-in short money they were playing with. how do you justify -- i'm sorry to get wound up -- but all i can say is you have my sympathy. i think it is good news that the housing market in arizona is coming back really well. thanks.. i have always said it was the collapse of the housing market that started this.

so there's good news out there for arizona as far as the housing is concerned. you and i still know thousands and thousands of small businesspeople in this state who , andtruggling mightily still nearly half of the home loan mortgages are underwater. .orth less than their mortgage that cannot continue in my view. these people's mortgages have to be renegotiated. that was what i suggested years ago. you want to respond to a quick? -- real quick? >> [indiscernible] they are taking place [indiscernible] are getting loans shoved down their throats that they do not understand.

[indiscernible] do not know what is really going to go down. [indiscernible] >> gotcha. my friends, i will be back to south tucson -- everybody is clear that i am supposed to be holding town hall meetings, and i thank you for your participation, and i hope we can can please -- we can continue this immigration reform. congress is in recess, and i hope we can bring people on board through the voice of the people. thank you, and god bless. askedtownhall tonight, we him a who is the future of your political party. here's what you will hear during the discussion. bei know this might

semantic, but how do we make women's issues men's issues, democrat platform issues, independent? it seems to me we are so locked into partisan arguments. >> i would not be here if it were not for independent voters in missouri. 1/3, andut 1/3, 1/3, there are about 30% in missouri who would not vote for me though matter what, and there's about 1/3 who would vote for me no matter what. there is this middle, and most of those folks are perfectly willing to vote for a republican or democrat. they like compromise, like moderation, so i think one of the things we need to do is make sure we are communicating always with independent voters across this country. if we always put on our hats of

being a political party first, we are going to lose those independent voters. we have a wonderful opportunity in this country right now because the shiny objects in the republican party do not translate well to independent voters. they translate very well to the base of the republican party. you all and i know this very, very well. your caucuses are famous for picking the republicans that are not anywhere near the middle. [laughter] that is an opportunity for us. if we continue to talk about the issues that most americans care can i send myis kids to college, will i have her charming, is there healthcare, is the bridge down the road safe, can i drive over it? the macron says, issues, and barbara mikulski

says macaroni and cheese issues. even the mac for any and she's issues that we are focused on, as long as we keep talking about this, we will get more those independent voters than steve king, ted cruz, -- steve ted cruz, and todd aiken wannabes. >> we are looking at up-and- coming politicians to find new people to run for the office. also your comments and tweets, all starting live at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> tonight -- >> she had a lot of goals in life, but those were enhanced when he met and married mary todd. she was very ambitious. she said she wanted to marry a

man of good mind and hopes for a bright future, and she said she was going to marry a man who would be president. there were something about abraham lincoln that she saw the potential and encouraged it. to basically showcase what her husband had done, how far he had come. they were at where headed. stating to the world that abraham lincoln had made it and was ready to move on. >> the encore presentation continues tonight at nine a cut eastern on c-span. during tonight plus program, join in the program with a history professor catherine clinton. amy klobuchar talks to democrats tomorrow at a keynote -- as a keynote speaker at a fund raiser. she is the first democratic senator to visit iowa as a

2006 teamor the campaign. >> what is interesting about washington in this age is once you have that title, even if it is a very short title, even if you have been voted out after one term, you can stay in washington as a former chief of staff, a former congressman, a former chief of staff to congressman x or y, and that is marketable. you are in the club. that is a striking departure from the days in which people would come to washington to serve, serve a little bit, and then go back to the farm. founders hadthe intended it. there is a new dynamic now and a lot of it starts with money and the money available and resources available for people to do well here. insider'snight, and look at the media in washington.

met with the iraqi foreign minister and they both gave reefer march of the press, discussing middle east stability. this is about 15 minutes. >> good morning, everybody, and welcome. there happy to welcome foreign minister and the ambassador from iraq and the rest of the iraqi delegation who we just met with and will be meetingn here for a following our opening comments. we have had a very good bilateral meeting in which we have discussed the challenges aq faces, the importance of iraq, and the importance to the united states, and we will continue the

discussions this morning in the joint coordination committee. i will note that since the time this committee met last iraq has taken a number of noteworthy strides. i visited iraq there have been a a two-year hiatus in meetings. since then, a host of progress has been made. iraq has settled a number of difficult issues with kuwait, stemming from the 1991 gulf war. iraq has dramatically improved relations with jordan. it has improved relations with turkey. it has also begun to stabilize broader relationships in the region.

we also welcome the fact that they have renewed relations with kuwait and are currently paying very serious amounts of money as a matter of settling the claims from 1991. there are significant things being achieved. we also welcome the internal political process that iraq has made over the last few months. nobody should make any mistake and we have not this morning, we know there are very significant challenges that still remain. we must face them together. intersection of regional currents of increasingly turbulent and actions, sunni and

shia extremists on both sides of the sectarian divide throughout the region have the ability to be able to threaten iraq's stability if they are not checked. seen, hasas we have launched a horrific series of assaults on innocent iraqis, even taking credit for the deplorable bombings this past weekend that targeted families that were celebrating the holiday. this al qaeda network stretches well beyond the borders of iraq. with many al qaeda leaders operating in syria, we all need to accelerate our work in order to set the conditions for diplomatic settlements. geneva at then first meaning -- iraq was in geneva for the first meaning. -- meaning. a stable andt peaceful syria and we look

forward to discussing how we can work to make that a reality. we want to discuss the issue of weapons flowing from the syrian conflict into iraq. weapons flowing through iraq and going into syria. it is a two-way street. foreign ministers agree there is very significant process yet to be made. this morning, we will discuss the ongoing efforts of iran and that are -- hezbollah trying to fuel the dangerous conflict in the region from the other side. we cannot allow them to play on the sectarian divide to recruit young iraqis to go fight in a foreign war. the same way we cannot allow al qaeda and other extremist to

recruit young men from iraq and elsewhere to join into their twisted version of jihad. we are committed to helping iraq to withstand these pressures and to bolster the moderate forces throughout the region. it everyoneiterate, at this table and all of the people sharing this discussion share a to succeed and overcoming -- and overcoming the challenges we face today. the united states remains very committed to working together with the iraqi government to address regional challenges and we welcome the steps that have been taken by the iraqis to build a strong, democratic, and inclusive state. the prime minister agrees with me that there is much that yet can be done internally in iraq

in order to meet some of those internal political challenges. progress cannot be made on security issues alone. there needs to be progress within a rock on political issues, -- iraq on political issues, constitutional issues that have been outstanding for too long. the foreign minister agrees that are challenges we need to be dish -- we need to meet together. our common road together is the strategic framework agreement. i welcome the iraqi delegation and we look forward to having a and successfulve conversation over the course of the day. thank you, mr. prime minister. you, mr. secretary. i appreciate very much what you have said.

we want to reaffirm our commitment. start meeting on the joint committee on political relations. we have endured many challenges together, mr. secretary. our mutual relationships have totinued engagement emphasize the significance of continued u.s. engagement, which is critical to the success of on thed the iraqi people ongoing transportation -- transformation to a stable democratic and prosperous country in the heart of the middle east. days, we in recent

have seen that terrorist attacks by al qaeda more frequent. it has cost many, many lives. ispite all of these attacks, am here to inform you that iraq is not heading to a sectarian war. there is a determination i leadership -- by leadership that we have been there before and we are not going to go there. message, counterterrorism, capacity building for our

security forces to stand up and face the increasing threat from , theexus of al qaeda spillover coming from syria. we look forward to your continued support. having an independent and mutual position is exciting and we have believe along, we political solution is a more viable way forward. we kept our distance on both sides of the conflict. iraq has not provided arms, money, or oil to the regime.

in orderept a distance to play a helpful role. we will do more to make sure iraq is independent of its actions and has no influence whatsoever. they mayers -- be encouraged by militias or people who want to fuel the conflict or the violence, but this is not a government policy. that wein a region .annot disassociate

the atrocities that happened yesterday in egypt. neither the government or the demonstrators have used such a level of violence. we look forward to our meeting with you. iraq is a dependable and reliable partner to the united states. >> thank you very much. we look forward to working with you. obviously, for some time to come. thank you very much. >> we will asked everybody here to move so we can get everybody

seated around the table. thank you. >> president obama said today that the u.s. has canceled a joint military exercise with egypt in response to the violence in that country. he spoke from where he is vacationing in martha's vineyard. here is part of those remarks. >> that is why we are so concerned by reason -- recent events. we appreciate the complexity of the situation. mohamed morsi was elected president in a democratic election him and his government was not conclusive and did not respect the views of all egyptians. egyptians wereny

calling for a change in course. we do not believe force is the way to resolve political differences, after the military's intervention several weeks ago, there remained a chance for reconciliation and an opportunity to pursue a democratic path. instead, we have seen a more dangerous path taken. arbitrary arrests, a broad crackdown on mohamed morsi's associations and supporters, and now tragically, violence has taken the lives of hundreds of people and wounded thousands. the united states strongly condemns the steps that have been taken by egypt's interim government and security forces. we deplorable violence against civilians. we support universal rights to human dignity, including the right to peaceful protest. we oppose the pursuit of martial

law. it denies those rights to citizen under the principle that security trumps individual freedom. states extendsed its condolences to the families of those who were killed and those who were wounded. given the depth of our partnership with egypt, our national security interest in this pivotal part of the world and our belief that engagement can support a transition back to democratically elected civilian government, we have sustained our commitment to egypt and its people. aile we want to sustain relationship with egypt, our traditional cooperation will not continue as usual when civilians are being killed and rights are being rolled back. as a result, we notified the egyptian government that we are canceling our biannual joint military exercise, which was

scheduled for next month. i've asked my national security team to assess the implications of the the actions taken by the interim government and further asps that we may take necessary with respect to the u.s.-egyptian relationship. the egyptian people deserve better than what we have seen over the last several days. to the egyptian people, let me say, the cycle of violence and escalation needs to stop. thehat was part of president's remarks earlier today. you can see his entire remarks later in our schedule or any time at www.c-span.org. we are asking who is the future of your political party. we will show you events from established and up-and-coming political figures and asked viewers to call in and tell us who they are watching and

looking to lead their party into the next presidential election. we are also taking facebook comments and tweets. that starts at 7:00 eastern here on c-span. tonight -- >> she had a lot of goals in life,. ambitious, she said she wanted to marry a man of good mind and hoped for a bright future and she also said she was going to marry a man who would be president. there was something about abraham lincoln that she saw the potential and encouraged it. mary help to showcase what her husband had done, how far he had come, and hinted at where they were headed. stating to the world that abraham lincoln was ready to move on. >> the encore presentation of first ladies continues tonight at 9:00 eastern on c-span.

within the conversation catherine clinton. for american progress and the cato institute discuss the constitutionality of u.s. peace attempts at nullification on several issues. quitting healthcare, gun control -- including healthcare, gun control, and state id laws. a recent survey on americans views on aging. your e-mails, phone calls and

tweets. washed in journal is live at 7:00 eastern on c-span -- washington journal is live at 7:00 eastern on c-span. at the republican national committee meeting earlier today in boston, the party highlighted certain people as part of a driving -- a rising stars program. this is 45 minutes. >> to my left, she was first elected to the new hampshire house of representatives at age 23. she is in her fourth term. she is also a leader in the latino community and has been featured on fox news latino. she has received the innovative

health care pioneer award and was recognized as one of the 45 most influential women under 45 by the republican security council. i want to thank her. we also saw each other as well in new york. thank you for coming. karin agness, to my right, was the founder and president of the network of the enlightened women, the nation's premier organization for conservative university women. she is a graduate of the university of virginia for her undergrad and a law degree. not an easy law school to get into. she practices law in d.c. and is a senior fellow at the independent women's forum. she has been named as one of the maverick pc 40 under 40 and was one of the 30 under 30. thank you, karen, for being

here. scott erickson, to my left, came all the way from california, where we just were a few months ago. he spent 15 years serving as a police officer in san jose working on the recognition and identification of terrorist organizations. he holds a masters of science degree in criminal justice studies from the university of cincinnati, and if that were not enough, scott has collaborated extensively with the heritage foundation, frequently contributing to their blog. scott is focused on issues of national security, including foreign terrorist organizations, law enforcement, and missile defense. he has co-authored several reports at heritage, including his latest, lessons from benghazi.

and to my right, the speaker of the oklahoma state house, t.w. shannon. he is the first african-american to hold that position. i had the privilege of meeting him in my last trip to oklahoma. he has been on the road with me, helping the rnc raise money as well. that is a big plus for t.w. he is a registered member of the chickasaw nation. as speaker, he has been a voice for limited government, personal responsibility, has advocated saving taxpayer money, and building oklahoma's infrastructure. speaker shannon has been appointed to the gopac national advisory board. i will let him tell you the truth about himself, but i think many of you will want one after this. i will ask a few questions, but

first, let's go around the room, starting to my left -- in five minutes, tell us what brought you here, why you are republican, and what you hope to accomplish now. >> thank you for having me here today. i came from a great bastion of conservatism known as san francisco. born and raised in the bay area. grew up in a very politically- oriented household. not necessarily one that we had family members involved in politics, but we discussed the issues of the day. growing up, as much as i resisted and wanted to talk about sports, the conversation always came back to current events. that helped me, i think, grow up and be somebody who could is concerned with the nation. my father is a police officer.

when i turned 18 years old, i decided that was what i wanted to do. i became a reserve officer with the city of san jose when i turned 21, did that for a few years, and then transitioned into a full-time job. i have been working the streets on san jose for the past 11 years. as far as activism goes, i had developed a lot of close relationship with friends of the heritage foundation. a few years ago, an opportunity came to me to discuss the issues important to me, through the heritage foundation. over the past couple of years, i have been writing extensively for heritage, for their blog, and that opened up a lot of opportunities for me as well to write for a vote -- other publications. i am a republican because the republican party exemplifies most closely the belief and

values and principles i hold. i think we should be promoting like each and everyone of you, i am here, because as an individual there is only so much i can do, but as a gerberry is no limit what we can do. it is important to get together with like minds, and others who are not, and include them in the conversation to develop a plan forward so that we can be successful in 2014 and beyond. >> thank you. >> thank you all for having me. it is a pleasure to be here. especially in boston. i was born in boston and my family then moved to new hampshire for greener pastures, you could say, when i was 8. then i subsequently came back here for college and higher ed, and then went back to new hampshire. similar to what scott was

saying, my family was not necessarily politically active and nobody to my knowledge has been in any elected office, but i do remember on occasion i would get up there and hold signed with my mother, can best for a candidate about something that was sparked in a discussion about an issue that was pressing, or something that concerned us as a family. when i went to college, i found, of course, it is a time where everything you think you believe, you are forced to get down to the fundamentals of what it is and why it is what it is what you believe in. i was involved with the college republicans when i decided to register to vote when i was 18. they were in the party that i closely identified with in terms of my vision for the country, all of the ideals of personal responsibility and individual freedom and all of that.

in college, of course, i had to defend that a lot. as a young female of hispanic and italian descent, in higher ed, i often fell under the stairs type of, you are a republican? that is weird. which i think is offensive, that people would assume such a thing based on how i look. it was great because it forced me to come to terms and understand why it is i believe what i believe, and why i identified as a republican. beyond that, when i graduated, i was 23. the midterm elections in 2006 were rolling around. honestly, i thought i would help on the campaign. i called a friend involved in politics in the state and said who could i sign up with? it was at that time, for the first time ever, someone suggested, why don't you run yourself for state representative?

the thought had never crossed my mind, something that i never thought would be a possibility for me, anything i had considered. at the end of the day, i realized the rudiments of campaigning, all of that, are pretty basic. i had held on other people's campaign, so i figured i knew what to do, so i knocked on a lot of doors, came up with my platform, and i ended up winning. fast forward to today. it has been a great experience. i have loved being involved, working to help my state, and now helping to promote the conservative ideals on the national level. i think this is a great program because it is really important that people here from those of us that are actually connecting all the time with communities, with citizens, are out there making decisions on issues that affect people's lives.

this is good. thank you for inviting me. >> thank you. t.w.? >> thank you for inviting me. i am here because i am concerned that the liberal party has been defining me as a minority, our party. quite frankly, they get the definition wrong on every front. the chairman was talking about how we would continue to make people understand, the republican party is open for everyone. we do not have to change what we believe as a party. we have an opportunity to tell our story, that we are the party of limited government, the party of personal responsibility. like i said before, i did not receive those values from the members of congress are work

for, i did not get them when i went to college, i got them in a predominately african-american church in oklahoma. those are part of the valleys of who i am as a person. the republican party, i believe, is the last great hope, for this nation and for the world. if we fail, i am concerned about what this place would look like for my children. growing up in oklahoma, in a small town, about 100,000 people, i have got the chance to experience all types of diversity. what i figured out is most people want exactly the same thing. they want better opportunities for their children and grandchildren. that is what this party has been about from day one. we have to go out and sell that message. as i look over the horizon, i am encouraged by the other young people that i see. the liberal media would have to believe that there is nobody that looks like the people on

stage that has an r by their name. when i was presented as speaker of the house, they did not do it because of what i looked like. i promised to make them chairman of a committee as well. that was a joke. [laughter] we have an opportunity in oklahoma to be an example for the rest of the nation. there is one thing we can all agree on. we cannot continue to allow the federal government to leave, whether it is health care, economic development, infrastructure. the government has proven it is either incapable or unwilling to make the changes that will move the country forward. i believe movement forward will happen in the 50 capitals in state government. i am happy to lend my voice to what i think is america's last great hope. >> i will tell you something else about t.w. shannon, we spent some time on the road,

obviously very articulate, but he is also pretty tough on an airplane with turbulence. i fly just about every other day, so i can take a lot, but there are some times when the plane is going crazy. he is one of these guys who is just turning the page on the newspaper when things are going nuts. okay, karen? >> a pleasure to be here. my involvement with women in politics stems from and internships i had in washington, d.c. for one of my home state senators, senator lugar from indiana. that was my first time being around a lot of conservative women who were smart, ambitious, and wanted to have families and careers, and we were trying to figure that all out. feminist voices were not reaching a lot of them, were not reaching me as a young woman. so when i went back to the university of virginia for my third year of undergrad, i sought out an environment what i found in d.c., smart and ambitious woman who wanted to

talk about the issues of the day and did not want to just throw out one-liners. we were interested in how a 500- page bill would affect them and their lives. i went to some of our women's organizations at uva, and as you can imagine, they were not so open to conservative women. on the way home from class one day, i walk by a building called the women's center. i thought at the time, this could beat it, a great outlet to talk about these issues. i called and scheduled a meeting with faculty member there. she was excited to have a bright-eyed student who wanted to learn more. but all the programs were really coming from a radical feminist perspective and more on the left. with this faculty member, i thought this is my shot to ask if they would be interested in working together. so i asked the university of

virginia faculty member, the women's center, if they would be interested in co sponsoring an event for young women. she looked at me like i was crazy, chuckled, and said, not here. that is when i decided to start an alternative. the network of enlightened women, an organization for conservative women on college campuses. we have now spread to over 20 college campuses nationally with a big national conference each summer in washington, d.c. and we are really growing. i think these principles can resonate with young women. i am excited to be here and to continue to work to reach young women with conservative ideas. >> thank you. t.w. shannon, can you give us an idea, example or two of the republican principles, conservative principles that you

have been able to show the people of oklahoma that really do create jobs and opportunity? >> first of all, the proof is in the pudding. if you look at trends across the nation, states run by republican governors and legislatures have fare far better than those that are not. the reason it is because of the policy we implement. in oklahoma, we have to majorities in both chambers feared we have a great republican governor, mary fallon, who is doing a great job leading the state. we were able to reduce taxes in this environment. many people would tell you that that could not be done, that the sky would fall. we voted to reduce taxes this year. we have another tax cut coming up, the state income tax. it is about 5.25 now. we will take it down another

0.15%. we are north of the 13th largest economy in the world in texas, so you have to remain competitive. if you want people to invest more, if you allow people to keep more of their money, we know as conservatives, they will either suspended or save it and invest, which is good for the county. we overhauled our worker compensation system. we have some of the highest rates in the nation as well as in the region. we revamped our system, moving from an antiquated system, moving to a new system that will essentially safe employers, people who create jobs, 15% to 20% on their premiums every year. people always say, stop talking about social problems. i think that is nonsense. you take every social issue known to man, whether it is high incarceration rates, drug and

substance abuse issues -- i think they can all be traced to one key ingredient, and that is the breakdown of the family unit. this year in oklahoma we said we would do things to promote the family, going on a campaign to express why strong families are not as good for society, they are good for the economy, and great for the state. those are just a few examples of how we are proving conservative values are what will lead to prosperity. [applause] as conservatives, we lend to the conservatives -- the liberals ideas about social justice. frankly, there is only one system that has done more for man to get people out of generational poverty, and that is capitalism. we should be promoting that and telling that story more and telling into every community. >> karin, the democrats love this war on women thema. while mitt romney -- as you know, there was a struggle with single women.

at the same time you have democrats like eliot spitzer, anthony weiner, bob filner -- >> quite the group. >> what are some of the things that you think we can do better to reach young women? obviously, there are many opportunities, but what would your advice be in getting better at that, maybe reaching more people, young women, for example, across the board? >> i was excited to see in that report, a big section on reaching women. women are not some unified voting bloc that will vote liberal everytime, because it is

more complicated than that. as to reaching young women, in the last election, the democrats were really successful in putting out a number of images and celebrity ads to target young women. i think one of the things that we need to be doing is recognizing the difference segments of women and targeting them. i have to admit, as a young woman, i found some of the things the left putting out as frankly insulting. remember the life of julia? the image of a woman showing her life from age 3 to 67 under obama? it was basically every major decision, there was something she had to do with the federal government. i found that insulting. we need to put out an alternative to that and that will speak to women. the keys are targeting these different segments, recognizing it is a different block. and then meeting women where there are. for young women, a lot of what

we're doing in news, we use the technology that college women are using, speak to them through their professors and other students, and peers, and try to meet the more they are. >> on a similar front, marilinda garcia, what do you think could be done, what would be your advice to get more young women to run for office? >> i think programs like this are important because they showcase people liked karin do wonderful work, other elected officials around the country around my age. it seems to me -- the most important thing for me, was that somebody actively encourages someone to take that step. there have been studies done about corporate involvement with women, all these other sectors, and what they always say is with women, despite all the things being equal -- they are qualified, intelligent, capable,

accomplished just as much as their male counterparts, we tend to question our qualifications, the timing, all of these things, and not run for that promotion, not ask for the salary raise. i think there is an intersection with politics there, in terms of putting yourself out there, trying to be a leader and all of these things. i think, with women, the issue is, of course, having examples out there. we have some fantastic ones. we both have great female governors, all sorts of wonderful elected women. in my state alone, we have the first majority female state senate. we have two female senators on the federal level. really we need to be out there encouraging. when i speak to groups of young women, college students, high school students, whatever it may be, i always just say it is great to help, great to be involved, but seriously consider doing it yourself as well.

know that you are capable, and that there is a support structure there for you. there are actually a lot of good groups out there now that i talk to that i did not know about when i first ran. i am glad they are there now and i am happy to help. >> scott, you have written extensively about benghazi, snowden. what do you wish people understood about barack obama and his foreign policy record that you're concerned people do not? >> people are starting to understand is a bit more broadly, but the american people need to understand, in this administration we have seen a systematic decline in our stature and position in the world and the respect that other

nations, either allies or adversaries have for us, has declined to that is the primary thing i want people to understand. the best we can ameliorate that is, of course, to elect a republican to the white house in 2016. that could have a dramatic effect. [applause] i think that could have as a dramatic affect on our stature in the world as did the election of ronald reagan. we saw a complete flip with respect to how people view the us. there are repercussions to their actions. we do not have that today. the president has a penchant for dithering and provocation here that will not change over the next two years. he could do a few things with respect to this note in case. he could take the opportunity to reacquaint himself with the agreements that the bush administration had with the czech republic, poland, the place of missile defense assets

in europe, something that he were rejected in his administration. those are the things that would tell the russian government, vladimir putin, that we are serious, we are not just about rhetorical posturing. we will actually take action. >> marilinda, back to you on hispanic engagement. what advice would you have to our party to do a better job? >> i love this question because i come from new hampshire and we have about a 2% hispanic population. it's funny when i get the immigration question, i usually start by saying, well, in canada is not really a problem -- anyway, it is a different experience than it is in texas, out west. but it is a very important issue. the problem, which feeds off of

what t.w. mentioned, unfortunately, when there is a loud voice saying something sensational or offensive, that is what is plastered all over the news. that ends up being our position, which is ludicrous, of course. we just have to accept that is the way it is going to be. so what we have to be doing -- again, this comes down to state and local officials, people in the community, neighborhood. you have to connect with people, as a person. you have to talk to them, talk to them at the grocery store. get them involved with parents' associations at school. and then guide the conversation. ask them questions, are you happy with the education system, are you happy with property taxes, are you worried about such and such?

then you can tell them, well, this is what i believe, this is the way i think about this issue. these are the solutions that such and such an elected official or candidate for office supports. do you agree? when it comes from a personal level, when it comes from an issue-based focus, then you can have a meaningful impact. it is a lot harder during election season when you're trying to get out there and capture a group. of course, it is important to spanish media, to use all of these social media things, but you have to be sincere, a long term, engaged effort. i hope we are out there in those communities. >> if you are going to make the sale, you have to show up and ask for the order. it is harder before an election. >> exactly. it is interesting that republicans and democrats, immigrants, race, all of these

things -- elections are cyclical. it is interesting to see how the parties involved, perceptions of who is on what side. you have to think long term. everything is not always going to be this way. the dialogue will change, the situation will change. when someone has someone to talk to, someone out there connecting with them, that is when you can make a meaningful impact. >> t.w., i promised i would ask you about the truth, so could you tell us about it? >> there was an article, a profile on me. in my office i have this sofa that i call the true sofa. so often members will come in and tell me what they think. i meet with constituents on a regular basis. when you're in there, you get one on one, and you get the real story line is for the policy,

why they do not. that is what we have to do as a party, engage people one-on-one. i think about my own district. when you talk about minority outreach, different demographic out rich, my district is 54% democrat, 34% republican, 12% independent. but about 25% of that is african-american. i carry the african-american vote each time i ran, and i did that by going one-on-one. i am the third generation from where i'm from fear they are not voting for some unknown republican. that made a big difference. that is what we have to do as a party, make sure that we are going out and talking to people one on one, let the chairman

laid out in his plan, and not showing up the day or month before an election, but having a presence in the community for the long term. this is a relationship. i will give you a great example. everyone remembers the chik-fil- a issue. if you have a facebook account, you would have thought there was nobody in support of chik-fil-a. the liberals and democrats had done such a good job of reinforcing what they already believe about that issue. when it came time to show up to support chik-fil-a, there was a different response. that is my point here. this is a relationship business. >> thank you. karin, did you want to tackle the issue of bias at universities? what advice would you give to folks out here as to what they

can do to tackle this issue at our universities and colleges across the country. >> there is someone out there in the crowd that does that, so it is great to see. tackling the universities. that is a challenge. one thing that we have to do is first to acknowledge there are problems there, and secondly, create alternative environments. one of the things that we have done is created an alternative home for conservative women. we get them educated through issues through a book club, and then there are emboldened to speak up in their class is, get engaged. it is important to really provide and foster those alternatives. those of you who run local republican organizations and clubs, reach out to the college republicans at your universities and invite them to your meetings, get engaged with them and see what you can do on that front. that is important. then, i am happy to say, from indiana, we have our former governor mitch daniels who is now the head of purdue university. [applause]

i am excited to see what he would do to see if he can turn that around into a market leader for ideas, a market leader for changing some things at universities across the country. >> speaking of indiana, is tim here? why don't you tell the group when governor pence did today. >> yesterday was my first official day as state chairman. in my former role -- i serve for the last 14 years in state elected office, first of state treasurer, and then auditor. today, governor pence named duane sawyer, an african- american town council president from indiana, as my replacement as the new state auditor.

gov. pence made that important announcement this morning in the statehouse. >> that is great. first ever? [applause] excellent. scott? then we will open up for questions and comments. you are a police officer in san jose. you know that our party wants to get involved and the community level. it is something new, as far as doing this for three and half years straight. what advice would you give to our party about engaging in the community. obviously, you are working in a community like that every day, the most important thing you do everyday. >> absolutely. the prevailing paradigm and law enforcement since the 1980's continued through today is community policing. that concept is predicated upon understanding the people that you serve. you cannot be an effective officer, cannot serve your community if you do not understand the idiosyncratic needs and fears and hopes that

each individual community has. it is all very different. it can literally differ from street to street, block to block. with respect to the political side, you have to be willing to go into the communities and engage people there. the best advice i could give it is, when you approached folks, you do not do it and tell them what they should be concerned about. you go there and you listen and find out what their concerns are first. it is only then that you open up the dialogue and you can start talking about larger issues. maybe make your points a little clearer. if you go in and simply say, we have to cut taxes for x, y, z, they may tune you out. the first thing you have to go do is go in and listen. >> as a police officer, i imagine there are times when you have to find community leaders

within a particular part of your community that will help you influence that community in order for you to be successful in whatever program you are trying to roll out, information you are trying to clean. >> absolutely. sometimes the most important programs, gang suppression, including former gang members, members of the community that can relate to the gang lifestyle. even though i deal with gang members on a daily basis, drug dealers and users on a daily basis, it is still hard to put yourself in that mind set to understand their lifestyle. we all bring to every situation our own perspective, colored by our own backgrounds. i think it is very important to bring community leaders and folks who have standing in that community into the fold if you want to be successful. >> questions? ed cox has the first comment. give us some announcements.

and no anthony weiner comments. >> this is about former gov. eliot spitzer, a.k.a. client no.9. he decided he would run for comptroller of the city of new york. why would you want to do that? $140 billion pension funds. think about the power that gives to corporate america for his ideology. we have a candidate in john burnett that has been out there working hard. he rose from the housing projects in new york city to be one of the leading compliance officers on wall street, working for smith barney, and then merrill lynch. john, maybe you want to say a few words? [applause] >> thank you, chairman. i am the son of a preacher, so i will try to be brief. i cannot promise you that i will

not asking for a donation at the end. i have a 23-year career on wall street as a margin and a list, then work my way up. my parents were born in the south, under jim crow, and i was born in a household that did not tolerate excuses and complaints. to give you an example, my father said, after i complained about something -- you know what, i grew up and a household where you did two hours of toward before sunup, they walked 5 miles to school, 5 miles back, picked cotton before dinner, and then went straight to bed. after hearing that a thousand times, you say, okay, you go out with no complaints. i think i took that into corporate america. i was able to work my way up to division manager at smith barney and director at merrill lynch before going back to school at

night to retain my undergraduate and mba. this has come full circle because during the time that i was earning my undergraduate degree -- i am looking forward to representing new yorkers and hopefully, i can be the only adult in this race. embrace integrity. i will try to be brief. -- if we can use still conservative values along with the free market, that is the best path to prosperity. [applause]

>> questions for the panel? >> i am from virginia. i apologize if you have written this. you mentioned snowden. a lot of the younger republican members were on board with the amendment. where do you see that debate going within the republican party? why aren't the democrats having the same debate? there is a prevalent strain of libertarianism going for the party right now. will center on balance. you have to balance civil liberties of u.s. citizens with the need to protect the country. i think you have to look at the

big picture and say, is the program keeping us safe? that is where the debate rests. i do not know how it will play out. it remains to be seen. >> republicans for choice. anybody know what sunday is? a great milestone in republican history. day a republican male in tennessee they gave -- cast the vote they gave women the right to vote. we said we would embrace our history and we need to embrace that. remind women. the more women know their history, the more women would run and more women would run as republicans.

when you talk about the fed's not leading, it is the white house and the senate not leading. the end of the day, the people deserve the government works. we need to continue to lead as a party and we have to recognize we have many differences within our own party, but we have to find a way to work across the aisle. but we do not have to compromise our principles. everybody is accountable when you are an elected official. when things go wrong in the state of oklahoma, i do not blame the senate or the governor will stop i take responsibility for it. that is what people in washington need to do. that is part of the problem, they have not taken responsibility. >> what do you think of reagan's 80% rule?

>> i think it is consistent. do you want to comment on that, karen? we all agree with it. the lawld like to asked enforcement officer, what can local republicans do to support the efforts of law enforcement? >> there is a lot of issues going on throughout the country at the state and local level with respect to budget issues pension reforms, and sometimes that creates some division between public employees who would otherwise be conservative and elected officials who might be coming down a different side of that issue. those things notwithstanding, those issues will be resolved at the end of the day. republicans have been our best supporters in terms of supporting public safety. there is not a whole lot more you can do other than continue to do what you are doing.

>> thank you for doing this. these are your rising stars. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] .> this is c-span townhall more of your say with congress away. ,uring congress's recess tuesday, wednesday, and thursday night on c-span, we are looking at public politics and talking to you about positions. welcome to c-span town hall tonight. we will ask you about the future of your political party. who is the future leader, the

likely presidential candidate, and maybe it is somebody that is not necessarily yet on the national scene. a couple of ways for you to participate, by phone. we will open up the lines now. -- make sure you mute your television and radio when you call in. you can also use twitter. we will read tweets from members of congress who are back in their home states and districts for the august recess. some postings already on facebook. we are asking you, who is the future of your party? --

doug, if you want to call in, you can use that third line. that is for third-party candidates and independent candidates. who is the future of your party? we will lead the party in the coming years, following some of what we heard from boston today. recently, -- we will get to your calls in just a minute. we want to show you a recent town hall in iowa. one of the speakers was senator claire from missouri. she talked that democrats bringing independence to be .uccessful >> how do we make women's

-- democratic platform issues, independent? are so locked we into partisan arguments. >> independent voters in missouri. it is about the third. there is about 30% of missouri that would not vote to me -- for me to matter what here there is about one third that would vote for me no matter what. [laughter] there is this middle. most of the folks in the middle are perfectly willing to vote for a republican or a democrat. they like compromise and moderation. i think one of the things we need to do is make sure we are communicating always with independent voters across the country, that if we always put on our hat of being a political

party first, we will lose those voters. have got a wonderful opportunity in the country right now. in theny objects republican party do not translate well to independent voters. they translate very well in the face of the republican party. you all have noticed very well. your caucuses are famous for taking republicans that are not anywhere near the middle. [laughter] really, that is opportunity for us. if we continue to talk about the issues most americans care kid through college, will i have a retirement, is there healthcare, is the bridge down the road safe? these macro issues -- these are

the macaroni and cheese issues we are focused on. as long as we keep talking about those, we will get more independent voters than ted cruz, rand paul, and all the other todd akin wannabes. [laughter] [applause] senator claire mccaskill from .he iowa 10 -- townhall this is c-span townhall asking of tonight who the future your party is. we have a tweet from cory who says -- we have nick on the democratic line. >> this is a fantastic question. a lot of the up and comers in wereepublican party

minorities. they talked about the policies they were not really attracted to. people like the incumbent attorney general of california, governor of maryland, from texas, and locally, there is a a commissioner of california. these are all candidates who will be speaking to racial and economic justice. >> all the candidates you mentioned were democratic candidates. >> that is my party. correct. >> thanks for calling. susan is on our independent line. who do you like there out there independent. >> the only one who has been honest is rand paul.

also, his father, ron paul. that would be, what a, nation, -- what a combination. giving credit where credit is due and saying, if we want to change anything, we have to go to congress. they are the only ones i have heard for the last years that have been honest. my opinion.just >> senator rand paul is on your screen. critical today of president obama's decision to postpone the military exercise with egypt, making the announcement earlier. we will show you the president's comments later on in the headline. they write senator paul says the

.aw is very clear , stop skirting the issue, follow the law, and cancel all foreign aid. " our caller is on the republican party. who is your candidate? tedsaid marco rubio and cruz. what do you like about both? veryr: they are both knowledgeable about today's issues as far as immigration reform. people talk about immigration reform. i am a hispanic. i am in texas. we are not a dying breed. we do exist.

hispanic, female, republican. that is almost nonexistent to the mainstream media or to the of the -- other politicians out there. i really do believe these two to whatd be closer reality is. although, there are other somewhere else, up north, or northeast, areas like that. ,own here, in texas, arizona new mexico, all of those states, they deal with immigration reform. they deal with hispanic culture. .hose cultures are very real we get bypassed by saying, most hispanics are democrats.

that is in no way true. that may be something other people think about. here in texas, where it counts, this is our area. we are very real. a lot of people do not even --nk -- they are hispanic "they are hispanic, they will vote democrat." no. comes down to it, theyou really look, democrats are not helping people. they always ran on a work for the poor. that is not true. if they have their foot on your throat and you are down there accepting food stamps and are theg on them, they best party.

but if you want to go and get ahead in life and do what you then the doing, democratic party is not the party to vote for. >> thank you for your comments. checking a couple of tweets from members of, -- of congress. at missouri state fair, here is what he had to say -- a picture of those ribs. ,nother senator said today responding to the announcement today of the new sexual assault policy made by secretary hagel, she says the policy is a step to trulyut inadequate address the crisis. a tweet from yesterday, out in the desert --

fromwas actually yesterday. the reason western conservative summit address the future of the leadership in the republican party. and some of the rising stars in that party. here is what they had to say. >> there are two races in the united states. there is new jersey, where chris a 30tie is clinging to point lead over his democratic opponent. >> he clearly outweighs. [laughter] >> outweighs most. let's be clear. but he will win. i am a new jersey and that i am from new jersey. i will say from chris christie -- about chris christie, a lot are not enamored by him. come to new jersey. when you spend time in new jersey, you may understand regardless what you think of him on a more national stage, he's exactly what the state of new jersey has needed area he has been the best thing to happen in my statee ste has beey

bullies for decades. they have gotten us into a lot of trouble. chris christie is a little pug nations and truculent. a bit of a bully from time to time, but that is what we needed. we will win in new jersey -- in virginia, there is also that. speaking only on my own behalf and not urging any of you to go ,ut and support any candidates i will say cancel janel he is a strong conservative in a tough fight. it is nick and talk. it will be a tossup race. it will be ugly. a lot of undecided voters. if you are on the sidelines thinking about, what can i do this year, ken is probably in more need than chris christie. i would be remiss if i moved on without pointing out that last i heard, there are a couple of

elections on september 10 in colorado. [applause] tose will be fascinating watch. i am getting some of the inside dynamics about those last night at dinner from state senators. you probably know more about that than i do. let's look at 2014. for context for our friends in scottsdale, the colorado constitution since 1876 has provided that we the people petition to fire a state for cause at the people may see fit. senator,ase, the democrat, and a blue-collar they are on the ballot to be recalled because of deep

rejections by their constituents to the gun grabbing votes they cast. --it -- it has never been in the history of colorado, that the state legislators have been fired in a state rate -- [applause] class i think it is interesting that you have got a mayor in new york city who is a slippery grabber. bymight be replaced america's most famous amateur photographer. all of that western summit is in our library at c-span.org. we are asking you who is the future of your party. publicans, independents. we will hear what the situation in iowa is as potential

candidates enter. chris christie, and article writing about the situation. the republican candidate for senate in the state. the situation governor christie finds himself in. the headline -- write that governor christie finds himself in an .wkward situation -- they do not expect the governor to lift a finger to campaign or raise money for his party's nominee were lent him support in his longshot campaign against booker in the october special election. antonio infrom portland, oregon. democratic caller. who is the future of your party echo -- party?

>> hillary clinton is definitely the future of our party. i am a lifelong hispanic democrat. i am very proud of the job obama has done. i think the future lies with and the democratic party. has donelican party this bible trivia fanaticism of shooting themselves in the foot. >> let's hear from phoenix, arizona, to alex on the independent line. are you a member of the third party or an independent? quest really independent. truly independent.

>> what is going on is i feel we -- isomeone to stand up have not seen anyone do that yet. this might be out there, but i feel they are putting surveillance equipment. they own food. i cannot even -- oh my god. [laughter] >> i will let you go there, alex. castro for the democrats and chris christie for the republicans. --

caller: this call has been wonderful. i love the woman who said, i am hispanic, i am from texas, and i am a republican. you hardly ever hear that. i am black from washington dc and i am also an anomaly like that woman. i am a happy, proud conservative. my future leaders, i would love to see chris christie. i love that fellow because he gets the job done and works with and he is not totally ignorant, sometimes, that our party can be. we have a communication problem. i have to give us kudos because last week, when someone had something -- a barack obama mask in his array, we spoke

immediately. i was proud of us. we stay quiet so often. that is why a lot of lax and -- blacks and hispanics say we are racist. we are not. we love minorities and we need to act like it. thank you for taking my call. > are you still on the line? what is it you think the party can do to attract? caller: there are a couple of things we can do. one is stand up. when you hear something ridiculous, stand up. speak out. say, listen, stop letting the democratic party paint us as being awful people that do not like black people and we want to take everybody's food stamps away, we want to take away every government saying. they paint us to be monsters and it is not true. we need to speak out and communicate.

notes from barack obama. i did not vote for him. i was not necessarily happy he won. wrongght something was with me because this was the first black president. i disagree with his policies. we should take note from him. he kept his offices open from the beginning to the end of the year. we close our offices. that is why we got beat bad. david,ly, we can hire maybe he will switch over with us and he will run. >> thank you for your comments. a couple on twitter. cory booker, senator elizabeth warren, and governor cuomo in new york on the future of the democratic arty. -- david, maybe he will switch over with -- and he wil

\ good evening. go ahead with your comment. leader ofuld be the the democratic party. one of the reasons i am democratic is because i believe in a safety net for those in the united states at maybe cannot make it on their own and need help. i do not see the republicans actually looking out for everybody. i think they were more disenfranchised a lot of people. that is why they are trying to get the latino vote and other things. they are not really showing themselves in good favor with a lot of communities in the united states. you cannot read the bible and lift her head and ask like other people do not exist. it is hypocritical. it is the hypocritical party to me. jeff on the independent line.

who do you like now? somebodythe future of to bring the independence into one of the two parties. >> we need a break from the two parties. i am looking at the minnesota governor as a possible presidential bid down the road. he has made no it -- noise interest. the governor of minnesota, both sides of the aisle. just interested in following the political strip. some u.s. questions, as a good idea of what to do to ensure our place in the world. >> what does he do now? >> working on different projects. .e has an online tv show just id it is more on the line of asking questions. if, what is, or what is happening. i think that is a valuable thing we do not do enough of. the snowden situation for example. instead of saying, what is

going on, what is happening, is everything up to snuff, we just say he is a traitor. -- a lot ofama times condemning him. we still need to ask questions. i think mayor bloomberg was mentioned, independent thinkers. people who say, there is weight -- there are ways to get things done. a whole new way of looking at things, rather than by party votes. >> what was the year he was running for president? as an independent? i thought he had run as an independent. caller: not yet. he had personal health issues with his wife. he has been making some noise. grassroots organizations, we have a group together. on the ballot next year. -- s one of those things

>> thank you. connecticut, norman, democrats line. caller: how are you this evening? i am going for hillary clinton. the reason i am is because she has experience and background. one of my biggest problems, i used to be a republican. i switched over to democrat. that was because every time abouting would come up the health care, the jobs thing, right? there was never a plan from the republicans to replace those. it seems to be the trend today. they say they are no good. they will be all bad for everybody. but they have no plan.

nobody is asking them when they are speaking. when -- if you want to get rid of this, what is your plan? cai thanks for your call. we will bring some comments from president obama on violence from egypt today. hope the u.s. -- the u.s. would suspend military exercises in egypt. the -- the town hall meeting earlier this week by john mccain in arizona. critical of the president's decision on egypt and the administration's action on egypt. the headline -- he slammed the obama administration this evening saying the president did not go far enough responding to violence on egypt. --

we will show you some of the town hall comments from john mccain a later in our c-span jock -- townhall. the question, who is from the -- who is the future of your little party? the independent line, joan, good evening. >> hi. weeks ago, you had the governor on washington journal. i was really impressed with him. the next day, i saw him when he had some of the panels gatherings that they have. i was real impressed with him then, too. he is real smart. just as a man, not a politician,

icause he does not seem -- just thought he was just a real man., good, level headed i am glad you had him on "washington journal." i was real impressed with him. the meeting a couple weeks ago in will walk you that we covered. you will find that in our library. democrats line. hello. >> good evening. i am glad you took my. i am a democrat. i have been a democrat. my father is a republican. we could not trust him anymore. [indiscernible]

that is the way they have always treated the blacks and hispanics. i transferred -- [indiscernible] , but whatme are good she said about the republicans, i do not agree. try tos, they wanted to get all the hispanics to vote to become caucasian, to vote so they could have the majority. [indiscernible] we do not want to be that. i said, ok. then they got upset with them about that. i am definitely hillary clinton. she will win. [indiscernible] the thing about the republicans, they are big liars. i cannot see how they except lies the way they do.

they tell the blacks this lady from bc -- she can be what she wants. they are not throwing anybody who does not have anything. they do not want them. hear what ron paul said? the gop leader there. there.ill let you go our viewer from texas. paul is on the republican line. who is the future of the gop? >> i am hoping for senator rick santorum. to i would like republicans dig alan keyes back up. years ago, he really impressed me as a very brilliant person, straightforward, and could be a very good representative. >> does it hurt either rick santorum or alan keyes to have run before and have not been

successful? if you do not succeed at first, try and try again. look at abraham lincoln. he could not win anything. finally, he got his break. >> thanks to your -- for your input. david is on our independent line. are you in a third party? who do you like the leader of the independents or your party at the >> i am a moderate. i would like to see a good republican or democrat,. i think both parties are moving to the extremes. unfortunately, i think the republicans, the future will be rand paul or ted cruz. looking atbody is hillary clinton, i am starting to think elizabeth warren is more speaking for the base of the democrats, from what i've seen.

go.o oakland we elaine is on our democrat line. what do you think? who is the leader of your party? >> i am from oakland, california. everybody, god bless. notproblem is -- it does matter how good you are to overcome an obstacle, what others do to you. everybody is basically in a state of grace. , thesea hard time things are not going away. take it to the heart. the lord said, "i am standing on a rock. beat down. 2011 [indiscernible] they have been using me as a guinea pig in the laboratory. i am a new version. "

class we will let you go there, elaine. cory booker just won an election -- the democratic primary. replace the deceased frank. cory booker spoke recently. here is what he had to say. invited backer get again because i am about to tell you guys a joke. it has a high level of truth in this. iness.th as stephen colbert would say. causing all kinds of problems. everybody tries to intervene. , the choir director, nobody can do anything. finally, the pastor said, i am bringing him down to my office and i will deal with this

myself. he brings the older brother into his office, sit behind the desk, six him in front of the desk -- sits him and from the desk, staring down at the pastor. the pastor was surprised by the behavior from a young man. he thinks, i have got to try something different. he sees a big, warm bible on the table. he puts his and on it and lays on it and looks at the boy and says, "i want to tell you now, where is god? " the boy looks scared. the pastor thinks, i've got him. he picks up a bible and waves hit above his head and says, " tell me right now, where is god?" the boy is shaken visibly from head to toe. i do not know what pastors you have, my pastor is, when something is going well, you

double down. [laughter] ,e stands up behind his desk leans over to the boy, shaking the bible, and says, at the height of his sermon, he yelled, so everybody can hear you son, tommy right now, where is god? jumps up, shaking from head to toe, sprints out of the office, grabs his little brother by the hand and says, we have got to get out of here. god is missing and the pastor thinks we took him. [laughter] [applause] my point is, ladies and gentlemen, we have got problems. we cannot sit around asking, where is god? us to deal with these challenges. >> new work new jersey mayor and now democratic senator -- candidate. we are asking you, who is the

future of your party? calls, treats, and facebook posts. joining us is a political reporter from the des moines register. must do three years away from election part -- election time with a headline like this. howard dean will be speaking august 21. thank you for being here. what are you seeing so far in terms of the potential candidates checking in -- trickling into the state? it has been a little bit of a flood if you think about the people on the hot list of possible candidates in 2016. we had marco rubio in florida last fall. scott walker of wisconsin inmate. as well as rand paul in kentucky here in may. this weekend, we had ted cruz of texas and rand paul again. and then rick santorum return for the first time since the

general election. got paul ryan in november. quite a few candidates. on the democratic side, we've got amy of minnesota tomorrow. howard dean is research -- resurfacing. joe biden is coming next month. >> c-span and c-span radio will be covering this in clear lake iowa. about thelittle bit event. she is speaking there but honoring hillary clinton. how will that work? >>) -- >> right. they gave the award to a democrat this year. she is true -- coming simply to for a democratic congressman here running for the senate. at has also spoken to iowans

the national convention in north carolina. it is interesting she is coming back. any interest?ave is there talk about her possibly forming in interest in running for president in 2016? >> yes. when we asked her in north carolina, she brushed off questions about becoming president. we have asked -- activists from last week. they were promoting a generic female president. one of the names were dropped. if you look at any hotlist or possible democratic candidate that hillary clinton does not my is always on the list. on the reporting republican meeting, which c- span recorded part of today.

the headline on the site. the headline says, the national gop, i was looking secure. what is the tool role that iowa has in terms of not just being a launching pad for candidates, but a place the candidates have to again to build the delicate -- delegates for the convention? >> exactly. it is a ticket out, especially if you are not well-known. a momentum builder. yes, also, it is gathering support for the eventual national delegation. >> is the story from boston earlier today that iowa's place is the first in the nation? >> yes. i think so. they are readily -- perennially attacked. we had problems with , thattions with people

campaigns are buying people's votes here. a variety of problems. that is pretty typical. i was always a little worried we are on shaky ground. it sounds like there is no rumbling of any effort. we are asking our viewers who the future of their party is. from what you have seen, are there any names that surprise you that you see popping up on the list or coming to iowa to speak, whether they are overtly speaking as a candidate or not? , thinking,surprised is he running for president? he said no. every once in a while, we have someone showing up for iowa who is not thinking about running. even though any politician automatic he goes on the list of thomas they wanted. >> that is a status iowa has.

jennifer jacobs. you can read her reporting. twitter.w her on thank you for joining us this evening. we continue with your calls on who is the future of your party? in texas, our republican line. mute youryou television or radio. i can hear feedback. then go ahead with your comments. i will put you on hold. make sure, folks, when you come on, to mute your television or radio. go.e we in sensitivity oh, texas, you are good now. go ahead. >> yes. i have been democratic for all .f the sign -- this time i am changing my party to republican. the democratic -- their morals, what they stand hurting it is really

the democratic party. this year, i am voting republican. that is all i can say from texas. i am hispanic. they will communicate the republicans with hispanics, and their morals are more acceptable. >> you mentioned morals. is that a higher issue for you than something like immigration reform? >> yes. more than the immigration reform. i am an american system. the way i -- american citizen. i was democratic. i like chris christie for

president. i hope he wins. >> thanks for your call this evening. florida is next, independent line. jeff. hello. caller: hi. this is a little bit off subject, but i have been independent since ross perot ran for president. i would like to know, why, and how do we change it, that the independents can vote in the primaries? i have not been able to vote in the primaries for a long time. do not think our representatives can do this all by themselves. i believe the american citizens have to get more involved. if the representatives go back to the basics and give the american people what they are asking for, we can do leaps and bounds in the 21st century. that is all i have to say. >> thanks. talkinget is from sasha

about the utah governor. someone had mentioned the utah governor. -- a couple more here. this one says -- lastly, this one is from kenneth -- the gop is launching a rising stars program. we will show you some of that someer -- we showed you tha of that earlier. he writes the project is the brainchild --

here are some of the panelists from earlier today at that rising stars meeting. >> saying something offensive, that is plastered all over the news. what is "ourbeing position." that is ludicrous. we just have to accept that is the way it will be. ist we have to be doing really -- again, this comes down to state and local officials, people in a community, a neighborhood. you have to connect with people. as a person. you have to talk to them at the grocery store, get them parents with the association at school. then, guide the conversation. ask them questions. are you happy with the education system? with your property taxes yet though are you worried about such and such?

then just tell yourself, this --what i believe and this is the solutions that such and such official or candidate from office supports. do you agree? when it comes on a personal level, an issue, that is when n impact.ave a it is harder during election season to capture a group. it is important to do spanish media. this important to use all data and social media and all that. it really half to be a sincere, more long-term and engaged effort. i would hope we are out there in the communities and having programs. to make the going sale, you have to show up and ask for the order. a lot harder three months before the election. >> exactly. it is interesting republicans

and democrats and immigrants and race, all of these things. is really interesting to see how the parties you've all -- parties involved and perceptions of who is on what side. you have to think long-term. the situation will change. ton someone has someone talk to or someone out there connecting with them, that is when you can make a meaningful impact. >> i promised i would ask you about the truth sofa. tell us about it? >> in an article on the profile a couple of months ago, in my office, i have a wide sofa, the truth sofa, because, so often, members will come in and tell you exactly you -- what they are thinking. when they get in there and you are looking i to eye, one-on- one, you get the real story.

you get the real story while -- why they support this policy or why they do not. the point being that is what we have got to do as a party to engage people one-on-one. i think about my own particular district. when you are talking about minority outreach, my district is 54% democrat, 30 four percent republican, 12% independent. about 25% of that african- american. the african-american vote each time i run. i did it by going one-on-one. i had a relationship there. my third -- a third-generation where i am from. they were not voting for some unknown republican. they were voting for wayne's son, or grandson. that made a big difference. we need to make sure we are going out and talking to people one-on-one, like the chairman laid out in his plan, and not showing up the day before the election or the month election, election, but being there,

having a present in the community for the long-term. again, this is a reprint -- a relationship business. i will give you a great example. chick-e are members the fil-a issue when it was going on. if you're on facebook, you would have thought there was nobody out there who supported chick- fil-a. the liberals and the democrats ofe done such a great job really reinforcing what they already believe about the issue. it came time to show up to support chick-fil-a, you got a very different answer. there were a lot of people. that is my point. this is a relationship business. that is why i appreciate the plan the chairman laid out that will ultimately lead us to success. >> part of the republican national committee meeting earlier today in boston. let's here from nashville, tennessee, asking our viewers and listeners who is the future of your party?

caller: i am 24 years old and afghan american. the future of our party, he has in -- he is very fair. he is one of the most honest politicians we have out there. if ron paul were a republican, i would vote for him as well. narrative, as african- americans, we need to attack, is the perception that if someone what youagree, or believe in, per se, we cannot keep calling them racist. that is one of the biggest problems we have in politics. if someone does not agree with you, it does not mean they are racist. they have their opinion. >> our caller. , keeping and i on what members are saying --

joe is in eau claire, wisconsin on our democrats line. who is the future of the democratic party? as a young person and a democrat, i get hopeful whenever i hear people like cory booker talking to groups of all different backgrounds, colors, and creeds, and he can relate with people. he comes from a younger generation that can really connect, especially with young and minority voters. when it comes to 2016, hillary clinton will definitely be a formidable candidate if she decides to run. i think in 2008, 2008, we took

a risk with hope and change when we elected president obama. that is what we got. our country has had that now and we will have that for eight years. think our country will be ready for a more seasoned person this time around. her.ld definitely support when i hear republicans talk about scott walker to -- running for president, it makes me cringe a little bit, as a resident from wisconsin. i found him very divisive as the governor and head of the state. i was at the capital not too many months ago, and state legislators, they do not eat lunch together in the cafeteria anymore in the capital. i think he has definitely helped contribute to the growing problem in our state. i would not wish that on our country. i cringe a little bit whenever i hear that name being thrown out there. >> joe manchin hillary clinton being urged to run here by the

daughter of a former republican president, barbara bush. the headline is -- ralph is on the independent line. who do you see as the future political leader you follow? caller: thank you for taking my call. at this time, the most moderate,

not because i am in the new york area, but christie would be second as vice president. dr. ben carsey, who i know will never be elected, when he described in the country, when he looks at a human being, he cut them open, and they are not black or white. there is just blood. with the intelligence, he would be the better president. christie, as a seasoned veteran, would bring democrats back on board. he is more middle-of-the-road to me. >> you think he would bring democrats to vote for them -- for him? you could work all around northern jersey antigenic city -- he really is devoted to and passionate. you cannot take that away. wishe same time, i really dr. ben carson, who is very

honest and intelligent, would really run and really be the best candidate out there. also, once again, he would be like what we have right now. ideology. we need someone in season, veteran, with politics, and can six people. i was -- i would have to say christie at that end. i would like to see carsey on board at somewhere out there. >> ben carson was our guest this month on the in-depth program. you can find all the video and book tv.org. more coming up on the future of your political party here. the news from today. the violence continues in egypt, nearing the end of the day, but a -- the death toll up above 600. president obama announced he would suspend plans u.s. military exercises with the egyptian military in comments made on martha's vineyard.

here is the headline. they say it shows the limits of u.s. sway, writing a rebuke underscored the limits of u.s. influence with the nation's 1.3rals, who benefit billion dollars a year in military aid. in addition to canceling the high-profile military exercise scheduled to begin next month, obama said his national security team will consider further steps as necessary, a comment that puts military aid in question. we will show you the president's comments next from martha's vineyard and then back to your comments and calls. >> good morning, everybody. finished a discussion with my national security team about the situation in egypt. i wanted to provide an up eight. -- an update. by stepping back.

the relationship between the united states and egypt goes back decades. it is rooted in our respect of egypt as a nation, ancient center of civilization, and a cornerstone for peace in the middle east. --is also rooted in our tall ties to the egyptian people. just over two years ago, america was inspired by the egyptians people posses desires -- people -- people's desires. we said at the time change will not come easily. we align ourselves with a set of principles. nonviolence, respect for universal rights, and political and economic reform. in doing so, we were guided by

we believeause nations are more stable and more guided by those principles, as well. that is why we are so concerned by recent event. we appreciate the complexity of the situation. mohamed morsi was elected resident in a democratic election. the government was not included and does not respect the views of all egyptians. we know millions of egyptians were calling for a change in course and we do not believe kforce is the way to solve political differences. there remains a chance for reconciliation and an opportunity to pursue a democratic path. we have seen a more dangerous path taken through

arbitrary arrests, a broad crackdown on mr. morsi's his nowciations, and, tragically, violence that has taken the lives of hundreds of people and wounded 1000 more. united states strongly condemns the steps taken by egypt's interim government and security forces. violence against civilians. we support universal rights essential to human date in the. including the right to protest. we oppose pursuit of martial law, which denied the rights to citizens. under the principle that security trumps individual freedom. or that might makes right. and today the united states extends its condolences to the families of those who were killed and those who were

wounded. given the depths of our partnership with egypt, our national security interests in this pivotal part of the world and our belief that engagement can support a transition back to a democratically elected civilian government, we have sustained our commitment to egypt and its people. but while we want to sustain our relationship with egypt, our traditional cooperation cannot continue as usual when civilians are being killed in the streets. result, this morning we notified the egyptian government our we are canceling biannual joint military exercise scheduled for next month. going forward, i have asked my national security team to assess the implications of the actions taken and further steps that we may take as necessary with respect to the u.s. egyptian relationship. people deserve better than what we have seen over the last several days. to the egyptian people, let me

say the cycle of violence and escalation needs to stop. we call on the egyptian authorities to respect the universal rights of the people. we call on those protesting to do so peacefully in condemned the attacks we have seen by by protesters including on churches . we believe the state of emergency should be lifted in the process of national reconciliation should begin and all parties need to have a voice in egypt's future and the right of women and religious minority should be respected and commitments should be kept to pursue transparent reforms to the constitution and democratic elections for a parliament and the president. in pursuing that path we'll help egypt meet the democratic aspirations of people while attracting the support to help deliver the opportunities to its citizens. violence on the other hand will only feed the cycle polarization that isolates egyptians from one another and from the world and

that continues to hamper the opportunity for egypt to get back on the path of the economic growth. let me make one final point. america cannot determine the future of egypt. that's a task for the egyptian people. we don't take sides with any particular party or political figure. i know it's tempting inside egypt to blame the united states or west or some other outside actor for what's gone wrong. we have been blamed by supporters of morsi. we have been blamed by the other side as if we are supporters of morsi. that kind of approach will do nothing to help egyptians achieve the future that they deserve. we want egypt to succeed. we want a peaceful democratic, prosperous egypt.

that's our interest. but to achieve that the egyptians are going to have to do the work. we recognize that change changes time. and that a process like this is never guaranteed. there are examples in recent history of countries that are transitioned out of a military government towards a democratic government, and it did not always go in a straight line and the process was not always smooth. there are going to be false starts. there will be difficult days. america's democratic journey took us through some mighty struggles to perfect our union. from asia to the americas, we know that democratic transitions are measured not in months or even years, but sometimes in generations. so in the spirit of mutual interest and mutual respect, i

want to be clear that america wants to be a partner in the egyptian people's pursuit of a better future, and we are guided by our national interest in this long-standing relationship. but our partnership must also advance the principles that we believe in. and that so many egyptians have sacrificed for these last several years, no matter what party or faction they belong to. so america will work with all those in egypt and around the world who support a future of stability that rests on the foundation of justice and peace and dignity. >> presidentry much. obama from 10:30 a.m. eastern and reporting from "the new york times," the latest death toll surpassing six hundred in egypt. a photo to accompany the story 600the associated press has 38. c-span town hall and we are

spending this evening asking you -- who was the future of your party? by phone -- the number is -- .com/c-also on facebook span and taking your tweets using #cspanchat. , i thinkone says senator tim scott and marco rubio are the future of the gop. they show true leadership for the nation. and from dan scott -- a couple of stories related to the future of the parties and the 2016 election. this is from the hill writing

about the 2016 election. "gop fears 2016 free-for-all will help clinton." did meet today in boston with the writing stars -- rising stars discussing a format for potential debates and they are reporting here from the column of "the washington examiner." limbaugh and sean hannity iodized moderators. they are already looking to block cnn and nbc.

the plan features on hillary clinton and they are looking to scrap the old model of having reporters and news personnel asking the questions and candidate forums. from theour calls democrats line. from jesup, georgia. think hillary clinton will probably be the nomination that i really like o'malley out of maryland. i really like a lady out of , the young 24-year- old black republican.

and some lady down in texas, the guy who said he was a democrat and just turned republican, the hispanic, if you check the numbers, he the president won the hispanic vote. i would like to know why the hard toans tried so take the waltons who spent $26 million between the five family help thend not try to one million workers that we have to subsidize every week, every month, every year. thank you all. >> watertown, wisconsin, on the republican line. hello. how are you? who is the future of your party? caller: i think rick santorum from pennsylvania.

i believe chris christie of new jersey, the governor. and i even think jeb bush has some inkling to run. as far as the democratic nominee, hillary clinton will only have to look to benghazi health,downfall and her the two blood cots. she would get hit hard on benghazi since she said, what's the difference? what do we do now in? in her statement to the senate. it shows no form of diplomacy at all. was killed and four other people. i think hillary should be held accountable for it. stops here inuck the president said it stops by him, which one is it? hillary doesn't have a chance of people remember benghazi. >> in the last go around for the president, was your early pick

mitt romney you? caller: i had a hard time voting for him because of his statements. he did not like or people. >> but you did eventually vote for him? it was very hard but eventually, yes, i did. santorum.ioned rick he recently spoke at the family leadership summit in recovered some of that. to be successful as a party and, more importantly, as a country, we need to have a revitalized culture. we need to engage in it. that's where you come in. breatheslives and their values. administration wants to make sure that doesn't happen. you already see policies being put forward by this

administration and they are changing the freedom of religion in this country. you see from this administration, they don't say it as much at home but internationally, they use the term, freedom of worship. ok to be in the walls and worship, but do not , that faith,igion and practice outside the church. they will restrict you. it's happening already and it will explode. i will never forget a quote chicago the cardinal in that said this just a couple years ago. he said, i expect to die in my bed. i expect my successor to die in prison and i expect his successor to die a martyr. to do what they do, use not the policies, don't agree with the establishment republicans that we have to

change our policies to be more like democrats but we need to change our attack asked to be more like they are. [applause] >> also one rick santorum, a story yesterday about campaign spending. santorum accused of illegally steering a donation to super pack. a campaign-finance watchdog has filed a complaint against former gop presidential candidate rick santorum santorum or his campaign may have illegally to donate andonor he approached santorum about getting his campaign $1 million and he urged and said to give the money instead to the super pack fund which can accept unlimited donations. the campaign is subject of much lower contribution limits and could not accept such a donation. he later rate canted saying it

was staff and him to give to the super pac. a couple of tweets on our question of who the future of your party is. paul. ted cruz and rand for hillary, the benghazi involvement and debacle are not helping her. the republican party as fiscal conservatives and republicans such as rand paul and paul ryan. hashtag.t is the ray, good evening. caller: i will try to keep it is the 15th of august, 2013, and we are looking at 2016. this is really kind of a circus. this is still going all three but there were opening the gates to the circus. what i'm looking at is people

running and what's even more scary is the ones that are there now, as soon as they get there, they are not keeping their promises, they all seem to toe the party line. i thought they were supposed to represent the people out there. that never happens. priority seems to be the reelection. they are getting set up for their future. and then after they stay as long tothey can, it allows them set up future employers, board please permitetc. me a little cynicism. i was a good man out there for a bute, mr. kucinich, unfortunately he was not presidential. that kind of amuses me. was notn because he

presidential because he had straw between his ears. notad a brain so he was presidential. what's even scarier than that, the people out there voting, what happens to the matter between their ears? thanks, that's all i have to say. >> louisville, kentucky, on the democratic line. welcome. thank you. one of your previous scholars, i enjoyed. he was talking about how he voted for romney but he did not want to because he did not like the poor. on the future of the democratic party, i think cory booker is one for sure. the mayor of san antonio, castro, has a big future in this party. my concern, you talk about the republican problems, i think they need to distinguish between people who want handouts and people who want to pay for

things and then that getting them on the government program. if a man loses his job in a rural area and cannot find one and he needs food stands to pay, i think you paid for it and he deserves it. that's the problem. they think any government or is on isat a person asking for a handout and we should be taking care of the working people first and foremost over tax cuts. i don't need my social security cut. i needed increased when i retire. i have a problem distinguishing themselves. >> back to the issue of the future of your party. we have had calls about rand paul. how seriously in the state is it known that he's thinking about running for president? more of him testing

the waters right now. it could grow. right now, he has the intention to at least seek that path but , in kentucky,ntry the democratic governor has and these areted more liberal cities than conservative. theentire state elects republicans as a whole. right now, they are just testing the waters, but they could be. i just don't see the country picking batman he's very radical and extreme. that's the problem with the party overall. >> let's take a look at some of the members. here is michele bachmann this afternoon about the egyptian situation. --gressman from indiana says

from newfrank pallone jersey -- that is in the wake of hurricane sandy last year. and of course, congress returns early september, september 9, and work awaits on a number of issues including spending for fiscal year 2017. here is a headline in the cq reminding us of the work that congress has ahead. containinged cr, resolution, i'd by house republican appropriators for september.

sacramento, california, on the republican line, who is the future of your party? caller: i would have a few things i would appreciate eating able to present. first, i would like to see how rush limbaugh would do. >> as a candidate? caller: yes. some in the republican party pushing for rush and perhaps a couple of others to be moderators at the 2016 gop debate. >> i did hear that. forgive my ignorance, but do we know what state rush works out of? >> i believe florida. i'm not entirely positive. >> if we assume florida, ok. i'm wondering that may be he were to run for either a

congressional representative, senator, governor of florida. pardon me for throwing that out to you. are you allowed to speculate what you might think? >> that's your speculation. you can add that comment. the person to ask would be rush himself. thanks for your comment this evening. attleboro, massachusetts, richard on the independent line. future political leader that you think is best that leading your political interests? to be honest, i have no idea. the point is that you have to follow the money. who'sney is the key to going to win. that's all that's important.

nobody that has presented hasselves at this point made any determination of what's going on. in other words, the money is going broke and you cannot determine a presidential candidate. it really does not matter. you could elect romney again. it does not matter. upmore of your calls coming looking at the future of parties across the country and asking you for your comments. one of the potential presidential candidates in the democratic party is hillary clinton. she she spoke this week at the american bar association. her comments were not political in the sense of running for office but she did talk about a number of current political issues including the voting rights act. here's which you had to say. >> time and time again, people

who were literally risking their lives for the right to vote. i'm sure you remember the famous ink stained fingers, the long lines in south africa. we have seen, however, that autocrats support the rights of their citizens. in iran, they were caught by surprise and had to resort first to fraud and then to force. in russia, vladimir putin accused me of personally engineering the massive protests that followed the controversial parliamentary elections of 2011. of course, americans have had to fight to safeguard and extent of their right to vote as well. when i was growing up in illinois, the youth minister from our church took a few of us cold januaryon a night to hear dr. martin luther king speak. out words, i stood in a long line to shake his hand and thank him for his work. i was a senior in high school in march of 1965 sitting in front

of a black-and-white television set when president johnson made his historic call for passing the voting rights act. his first words were, i speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny of democracy. in 1972, the democratic national committee sent me to register eligible are voters in the rio grande valley in texas. some the people were understandably wary of a blonde girl from chicago who did not speak a word of spanish or texan for that matter. the law belongs to them as much as it does to me and they want to vote. real progress since those days, but we still have deep laws in our electoral system. between a quarter and one third of all eligible voters remain unregistered and unable to participate and compare that to canada where most citizens are registered automatically to vote

when they turn 18. i held a form in cleveland after the 2004 election with my friend, the late congresswoman stephanie jones and there were reports of african-americans waiting in line to vote for 10 hours while whites and affluent precincts next door waited just 10 minutes. african-americans received flyers telling them the wrong time and day to vote. students from kenyon college said they had to wait half a day to cast their vote. they were registered. they were eager to vote, but the machines were allocated in a way to ensure that young people would face long lines. we have seen a sweeping effort to construct new obstacles to voting. often undercover of a phantom epidemic of election fraud like when the attorney general of south carolina justified a harsh new voter id law that declaring, "we know the identities of many dead people have been used for

fraudulent voting, a claim rejected by a subsequent state investigation. in 2013 so far, more than 80 bills restricting voting rights have been introduced in 31 states. not every obstacle is related to race, but anyone who says racial discrimination is no longer a problem in american elections must not be paying attention. despite the best efforts of many well-intentioned election officials, discrepancies and resources across precincts and willng stations disproportionately impact african-americans, latinos, and young voters. it's why the voting rights act, especially the requirement that jurisdictions with a history of discrimination clear changes and it has played such an important role for nearly half a century. in the past 18 years under both democratic and republican presidents, the department of

justice has used the loss of lock nearly 90 discriminatory changes to state and local election rules. many more were withdrawn under scrutiny. just as congress reauthorize the voting rights act in 2006, more than 30 proposed changes have been stopped. the supreme court recently struck at the heart of the voting rights act and struck out the preclearance formula that made it so effective. successe the historic that a sign that discrimination is a thing of the past and we no asger needed protection, but justice ginsburg said, that is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you're not adding wet. you will soon be soaked. sure enough, in the weeks since the ruling, we have seen unum seemly rush by previously covered jurisdictions to enact laws that will make it harder for millions of our fellow americans to vote.

earlierry clinton from this week. the topic on c-span town hall, who is the future of your party. a few facebook posts here, one from joanne who says -- stephen says -- warren -- and david -- waiting on our democrats line and reading high california, thanks for waiting. go ahead with your comment. congresswoman barbara lee speaks for me.

we need to continue to clean up corruption and vote for the liberal bleeding heart of jesus christ. i may direct ascendant of puritan protestant peter brown of the mayflower. it about barbara lee that has you excited about her as a future of the democratic she's female. she's black. she's from my hometown. invasion against the of iraq. i think it was just only her and one other. i want to kick all those corrupt politicians out. i want to tax the law. i want everybody to have good health care. i want the whole world to have decent health care.

you for that call. to los angeles, republican collar, jack, hello. los angeles? you're on the areir? jack ammann one more time. ok, alonzo on the independent line and grass creek, north carolina. >> do us a figure, mute your radio or television and go ahead. i would like to say, i'm a conservative i'm a conservative i havecal matters, but seen as far as the republican party is concerned, if they their ability to deny facts that they are faced

try tod continue to promote their policies under the framework of conservativism when, in actuality, what they promoting an aristocracy, they will not clearly defined was really going on in this country, you know you ? the country is moving more towards feudalism. it is really the fuel of the machiavelli and principles that they so deeply adopt, you know? i remember as a boy or as a tong adult running home buckley -- i don't know if you , but he ism or not pretty much the father of the conservative movement. they do not really manifest

until much after his death but these people were raised under and part of the buckley philosophy was that if you could put an elephant in the room and put a skirt on it -- let me say it this way. part of the philosophy was that you could tell a lie as long as you put the right face on it. if you told it long enough, people would believe it. this is pretty much where the republicans are going. there's an elephant in the room, you know. >> one quick question and we will get back to the topic. as an independent, is there a political personality, republican or independent, that you see as someone you would support, whether it's for president leader of your party? caller: i am the labored with having to listen to both

candidates, democrat and republican. as it stands at this point, i have to go with hillary clinton, but if the republicans are going to be serious about this next election, they have to come to the level of truth to promote the true conservative barriers and stop trying to rally around that philosophy and hide it. carolina.in north venice, florida, on the republican line, welcome. caller: how are you doing tonight? republican and i make my choice for president for one thing, my convictions played a ig role in who i am and what believe and that is how i vote, i vote my conviction.

choice fory president for the republicans in 2016 will either be marco rubio or jeb bush. the two of them on the ticket come i think they would be great together. as far as what's going on now with each party, the republicans and democrats, and what they are over thefar as arguing deaths of this country and who's going to fix it, i will tell you one thing, the only debt that's going to get fixed is if we quit giving to the countries like egypt. we give them so many billions of and they harbor terrorists in their country. when we start freezing their

monies and giving it back to the united states, where it belongs, then you can start fixing the national debt. >> some names have not really been that all profile -- high profile and it does not necessarily mean there's a question about who will run in 2016. we have heard about some local representatives, some governors like governor martinez of mexico, martin o'malley, the outgoing democratic governor of maryland, the republicans earlier today in an event we shown on c-span and c-span radio , they had a rising star for them. all four the panelists there, it's fair to say they are pretty unknown in other parts of the country including the speaker of the oklahoma house of representatives it also included , karen agnes, and she spoke this morning and here's what she had to say.

>> my involvement with women in was from senator lugar mym indiana and that was first time being around a lot of conservative women who were smart, ambitious, wanted to have family and careers. the feminist voices were not really reaching a lot of them and when i went back to the university of virginia for my third year of undergrad, i sought out an environment like d.c., smart and ambitious women who wanted to talk about the issues of the day and just did not want to throw out one-liners and were interested about how a 500 page bill would affect them and their lives. i went to some of the women's organizations and, as you can imagine, they were not open to more conservative women. on my way home from class one day, i walked by a building

called the women's center. i thought at the time, this could be it. this could be a great outlet to talk about these issues. meeting and scheduled a with a faculty member there. she was excited to have a bright eyed students who wanted to learn more, but all of the programs were really coming from a radical feminist perspective but with this faculty member there, i figured it was my shot to ask if they might in working together. i asked a university of virginia faculty member at the women's center a would be interested in cosponsoring.-- she said, not here. that's when i decided to start an alternative. i started the network of and white and women as an organization for conservative women on college campuses and anyone who says conservative principles cannot reach young women should pay

attention because we have now spread to over 20 college campuses nationally with a big summerl conference each in washington, d.c., and we are really growing so i think these principles can really resonate with young women. earlier innt from the video library on c-span.org. coming up, some of the comments from the pentagon spokesman about the pentagon's new sexual assault in the military policy momentarily. the question on the c-span town hall, who is the future of your party? a few tweets before we get back to calls. this one says --

>> i may have read those earlier this evening, forgive me. you may have missed them. to clear we go on the democratic line in louisiana. hello, thanks for waiting. caller: thank you for having me. that in to comment australia, you have to vote. enrolledutomatically on you are allowed to vote all types of networks. >> what happens if you don't vote? fine or a prison sentence. you vote. it's part of your duty.

>> you think something like that would work here? caller: we have too many crazies. it would not work here. it should. it's a good thing. the future of the democrats could be most anyone. i say hillary would be good. look. listening to all that i've heard ,efore, most of the republicans they are crazy. they are not the future. i certainly hope not. i'm not young. scared of what is happening to our country. the lies, the inability to help the poor, everything for the wealthy. with thet of growth

very rich and the poor getting poorer all the time. >> new mexico, margaret on the republican line. taking ournk you for calls. i am here with my husband david. first of all, i want you to know that up until about three weeks ago, we were democrats and we just switch to the republican party. as catholics, we just could not support the agenda of the current administration we don't feel like there is any leadership right now. there is an avoidance of all of the issues. there is no accountability, just a little slap on the hand and we will do it better next time. people have died and no one has taken responsibility for that. >> how long have you guys been mulling that decision? caller: i would say the last few years. because of the

immorality taking place. what really broke the camel's back was abortion and gay marriage issues that were brought into law. we don't feel that we need to be paying for these things. people is forced to accept something like obamacare, we're losing our our rights. we are losing our freedoms. caller: my husband is 67 and i am 61. it lifelong democrats but we don't want to be called that anymore. in thethat you are republican party in new mexico, who is the future since it will be wide open? caller: we love ben carson. but we would probably go with rand paul or ted cruz.

that is what we're looking at at now. we just cannot support things that are against our beliefs. switch?id you make the we went down there and told them we wanted to switch and that was why. we wanted them to know. >> i appreciate both of you calling this evening. thank you for that. jackson, mississippi, marie, democratic caller in mississippi. the future of the democratic arty at this point, hiller -- hillary clinton is the sole standing. who she will take with her, that is questionable. she does not have much of a selection to choose from. after listening to her speech at the bar, it just reminded everyone how skilled she is. she is a lawyer. she understands constitutional law in this country as well as

the national law. she's the best qualified in able to skills of being negotiate. it is the travesty of what happened in benghazi that i think it was very unprofessional and very undemocratic how the republican party tried to paint it is a very dangerous thing. some people do not want to have a military state in terms of how they run the embassies. it's very unfortunate that it but that is how the international goes. sabotaging the voting rights act, sabotaging the affordable health care act, making it look like something that it is when it isn't, everyone should be able to have health care. i don't know how many people can remember, but there was a time

when you could not he denied insurance. can no longer do that to you legally. a lot of people should be grateful that don't understand, but a lot of people don't read. they don't understand the ramifications of what's going on and how it benefits of them. they might not see it now but they will see it later. calls coming up on who the future of your party is and we will get to some tweets as well. from patty murray from washington state on an issue before the senate in terms of their deliberations on the defense authorization bill. senator hagel's directive on military sexual assault including counseling similar to ayotte legislation. the plan was released by the pentagon today.

>> eliminating sexual assault for the armed forces continues to be one of the department of defense's top priorities. andy service member civilian deserves a safe environments in which they are free from the threat of sexual harassment and assault. we will continually evaluate and improve our response programs. in may, secretary hagel directed a range of initiatives designed to strengthen our programs in the area of command climate, victim advocacy, and safety. they, the secretary direct immediate implementation of the following additional measures to improve victim support, strengthen pretrial investigations, enhance make prevention and response efforts more consistent across military services. a legal advocacy program in each military service to provide legal representation

to sexual assault victims through the judicial process. ensuring that all pretrial investigative hearings are conducted by jack officers. third, providing commanders with options to reassign those accused of sexual assault or related offenses in order to eliminate continued contact while respecting the rights of both the ends and the accused. that the first officer in the chain of command received timely follow-up and responses. directing dod's inspector general to regularly look at sexual assault investigations. standardizing prohibitions on inappropriate behavior between recruiters and trainers, their recruits and trainees across the finally, developing and proposing changes to the manual for court-martial that would allow victims give input.

all of these measures will provide victims with additional rights, protections, legal insure that help sexual assault related investigations and judicial proceedings are conducted thoroughly and professionally. the department of defense has established an independent panel in accordance with the national defense authorization act for 2013 and the panel will review and assess that used to prosecute and adjudicate crimes involving sexual assault and related offenses under the uniform code of military justice. secretary hagel has met with panel members and he will closely review the recommendations when complete. on theassault is a stain honor of our men and women who serve our country as well as a threat to the discipline and cohesion of our force. it must be stamped out. toretary hagel will continue

meet weekly with dod senior leadership to personally review dod efforts and ensure that directives and programs are being implemented effectively and the department will continue to work closely with both congress and the white house on eliminating sexual assault in the united states military. we are all accountable to fix this problem and we will fix it together. from george little earlier today and a related tweet hear from senator richard blumenthal of connecticut applauding the department of defense for giving same-sex soldiers equal benefits. back to your calls.

is the future of your party? independent line. caller: is there anyone who will stand up and take notice euthanasia or any kind of early death? catholic, so i am definitely against that, any type of early death type of thing. is there any candidate who will step up against that? >> have you seen any candidate that you like? if there is anyone out there, someone in politics or a civic leader, even in your state or area. i'm not sure. i don't know. i'm wondering if there is anybody out there, but i hope there is. i'm not sure. >> let's use some of our viewers can help you out. pennsylvania, democratic collar, terry, hello. caller: good evening.

i like martin o'malley from maryland and here in pennsylvania, we have an sharp,y general, she is and i think, i'm hoping, she gives pat toomey a run for the senate seat here in the future. >> when his pat toomey up for reelection? 2018? he's two years past the 2016 election. i think she will be ready to go by then. the republicans, you can tell by the guys calling in here tonight, they just don't get it. that couple switching who are 61 and 67, they don't like the democratic arty anymore, they're going to give up their social security, they are worried about obamacare. she's talking about those who

died in benghazi but does she wreck -- did she realize 32 iraq -- thank you, george bush. these people are so hypocritical and so far behind and as far as the republicans go, any tea party person who comes on, it doesn't matter because hillary's going to be the next president. >> republican in johnstown, pennsylvania, good evening. caller: how are you doing? >> very well, thank you. paul, ted cruz, that would be a good ticket. it seems like listening to while like theys, it seems are only interested in partisan issues, things that they can disagree with each other on, but

what i'm really interested in for the next presidential who is going to change the security issues, the ,overnment spying on everybody the nsa, the nda a, all of the things that are the hot topics right now as far as our civil liberties -- >> on the issue of civil liberties, do you see anybody taking the lead safari? >> rand paul, 100%. he's the only true candidate that is left. his father was robbed of how many states during the election? they changed the rules the night .efore they chose mitt romney there are things that have happened as far as his father. good chance have a at all, i don't think.

comment this your evening from pennsylvania. we're keeping keeping our eye on town halls across the country that members are conducting in their district and you will see a lot of them on c-span and c- alabama,o, and here is tweeting he is excited to be alabama with north council of local governments. and also this tweet covered john mccain in tucson this week holding a town hall meeting and here is some of what he had to say. >> my daughter sent manna have to come back with an answer. >> sounds to me like discrimination. work at a hospice and we were effected by sequestration.

monthe about $25,000 a and we are paid solely by medicare. what is the budget? what will happen october 1? if we have a government shutdown, we lose all of our funding and we have 300 patients that are dying in homes all over tucson who will not get their hospice and nor will we. do you think sequestration will end october 1? or do you think the cuts will never end? if you could give me an idea, thank you. >> thank you for the question and what you do. one of the most heartening attitudes in america is the growing acceptance and the realization that hospice is really a wonderful way to give spend if they choose to

their remaining days on earth and the growth of hospice, and i have had relatives who have chosen to make that choice and i think it's been a wonderful, caring, loving way for us all to go, sooner or later, so thank you for what you do. knowequestration, i don't what's going to happen, but i know from previous experience that if we get to this shutdown of the government, the grand canyon, the washington monument, all of those things that are going to happen when we shut down the government that the american people will react in a very negative fashion and they blame congress. there is a proposal by some of my colleagues in the republican senate that says we need to repeal obamacare if we are going to raise the debt limit. well, my friends, it won't work. i want to repeal obamacare. that's how i voted, but it just isn't. we don't have 67 votes,

republican votes, in the senate, which is what would be required to override a presidential veto. i think it's not the right approach. what i do want to continue is this effort to repeal parts of obamacare which are very onerous and very harmful, in my view, to healthcare in america. toelieve we are not going shut down the government. i believe that it's time the american people, the ones who want us to sit down together and avoid what is turning into it and every year or every two years that we threaten people like you. -- i don't about the approval rating in congress but i'm not proud of it. happenthink is going to is we're going to keep you in business some way. the answer.n is not sequestration was a copout by the department of congress

because instead of making this specific reduction that needs to the homes that are $600,000 or whatever outrageous thing it is, they are just across the board cuts and it hurts our military more than anybody because they exempted so many different programs that the being forced on the military. i will tell you one thing, talk to your friends out at and they will tell you their questioning, whether they want to stay in the military or not. when they are not allowed to fly, maintain, operate, exercise because of this sequestration. in the interest of full disclosure, i voted for it. dumbest abode i've made while in the congress. sit downrying to do is with democrats and the president

, sit down with my republican colleagues, and we stop this for a. of time instead of this having ba -- a period of time instead of being unsure of the future. >> you can see all of john mccain's tucson town hall and nancy pelosi's healthcare town hall sunday here on c-span. taking our questions and comments on the issue of who the future of your party is on the issue of healthcare, here is a tweet from pioneer. one more from penny who says -- let's get a republican collar, nationa is first in the primary state, natural, new hampshire, go ahead. people who are brave and

courageous and speak out in this country, one of them is jeb bush he's a very fine candidate he is a man of great integrity, and that is the type of man i would like to see him the white house next. in the officeman of president who knows absolutely nothing about foreign-policy. i've never seen anybody who put off everything just hoping for the best, that things would happen. he really proved that when we have to wait a whole year for benghazi to be something that we can be proud of that we have handled something for our embassy employees. i had a sister who served faithfully for 30 years in the

foreign service in the united states information agency and we have done away with united states information agency and that was a big mistake. that was started by nelson it has been taken over by the broadcasting board of governors. i do not know what that is. a was so wonderful in promoting our ideals. guest: we will let you go as we wrap up this addition of c-span town hall thanks for joining us. thanks for all your comments. the conversation continues at facebook.com/cspan. discussion continues tomorrow morning on "washington journal." we will have a look at the latest on the overnight news of violence in egypt. a guest from the center of american progress and from the cato institute talk about the